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LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

Class 


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HOLY    BIBLE; 

CONTAINING    THE 

OLD  TESTAMENT 

AND    THE    NEW. 


Tranflated  into  the 

INDIAN    LANGUAGE 

AND 

Ordered  10  be  Printed  by  tixCvmmflimtrt  of  the  United  Coloum 
in    T^EW-ENG  LAND, 

At  the  Charge,  and  with  theConfauof  the 

CORPORATION     IN     ENGLAND 

For  the  Trop/igation  of  \ht  Qoff><!  amtngfl  ttx  Indians 

in  Ncw-EnJund. 


C  AMERlDGt: 

Printed  by  Sumttel  green  ind  iJMtrMAkkf  Johtfa* 
MDCLXIII. 


iH>» 


r>o» 


Fao-flimile  of  the  Engli»h  title  page  of  tin-  lilim  l:il,|,  ,,r  n;r,:;.     i;,  ,|u, ,  ,1  si/.*-. 


BY 

REV.  JOHN   WRIGHT,  D.D. 

Rector  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  St.  Paul,  Minn. 


J&eto  park 

THOMAS   WHITTAKER,  2  AND  3  BIBLE   HOUSE 
1892 


Wf. 


COPYRIGHT,  1892,  BY 
THc>MAS    WHITTAKER 


LIBBABIAR'S  FUkO 


t$t  Corf  on  (pre»« 
171,  173  Macdougal  Street,  New  York 


PREFACE. 


THE  title  "  Early  Bibles  of  America  "  must 
be  understood  in  a  restricted  sense.  I  have 
written  of  Bibles  that  were  printed  during 
the  existence  of  the  British- American  colonies, 
and  of  others  that  appeared  after  the  colonies 
became  the  United  States.  I  have  not  carried 
the  subject  into  Canada,  or  other  parts  of  North 
America.  As  the  versions  or  editions  were,  in 
most  cases,  associated  with  certain  translators 
or  publishers,  the  accounts  are  not  only  biblio- 
graphic, but  to  some  extent  biographic. 

J.  W. 

ST.  PAUL,  MINN.,  Feb.  1,  1892. 


45 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

THE  ELIOT  BIBLE 1 

THE  SAUR  BIBLE 28 

THE  AITKEN  BIBLE 55 

THE  FIRST  DOUAY  VERSION 69 

THE  THOMAS  BIBLE 74 

THE  COLLINS  BIBLE 86 

THE  FIRST  TRANSLATION  FROM  THE  SEPTUAGINT  .  91 

THE   FIRST    TRANSLATION    FROM    THE    PESHITO 

SYRIAC  VERSION 97 

CURIOUS  VERSIONS 103 

EARLY  EDITIONS  OF  THE  GREEK  TESTAMENT        .  112 

VARIOUS  EDITIONS 119 

APPENDIX  A. 

DEDICATION  IN  THE  ELIOT  NEW  TESTAMENT 

OF  1661 143 

APPENDIX  B. 

DEDICATION  IN  THE  ELIOT  BIBLE  OF  1663        .  149 

APPENDIX  C. 

DEDICATION  TO  HON.  KOBERT  BOYLE  IN  ELIOT 

BIBLE  OF  1685                                                    .  156 


vi  CONTENTS. 

APPENDIX  D. 

PAGE 

LIST  OF  OWNEBS  OF  ELIOT  NEW  TESTAMENTS 
AND  BIBLES  AS  FAB  AS  KNOWN     .       .       .    158 

APPENDIX  E. 

SOME  OF  THE  PBICES  PAID  FOB  ELIOT  NEW 
TESTAMENTS  AND  BIBLES        .       .       .       .162 

APPENDIX  F. 

LIST  OF  OWNEBS  OF  THE  SAUB  BIBLES  AS  FAB 
AS  KNOWN 163 

APPENDIX  G. 

LIST  OF  OWNEBS  OF  THE  AITKEN  BIBLE  AS 

FAB  AS  KNOWN 165 

INDEX   ,  167 


EARLY   BIBLES. 


THE   ELIOT   BIBLE. 

THE  history  of  the  first  Bible  printed  in 
America  is  the  history  of  the  devotion  and  per- 
sistence chiefly  of  one  man.  John  Eliot  was 
drawn  to  New  England  by  the  desire  to  relieve 
the  minds  of  the  Indian  races  from  their  spirit- 
ual darkness.  He  came  when  his  mental  fac- 
ulties were  keen  and  active,  and  lived  to  see 
the  happy  consummation  of  his  hopes  and  plans, 
even  to  an  honored  old  age.  Eliot  arrived  in 
New  England  in  the  autumn  of  the  year  1631. 
After  a  short  time  devoted  to  teaching,  he  be- 
came the  pastor  of  the  Roxbury  Church.  From 
the  first  his  interest  in  the  Indians  had  mani- 
fested itself,  and  he  early  took  steps  toward 
i 


2  EARLY  BIBLES. 


giving  them  the  Word  of  God.  He  was  well 
fitted  for  the  work,  both  by  heart  and  intellect. 
His  scholastic  advantages  had  been  ample,  for 
he  had  received  his  education  at  Jesus  College, 
Cambridge,  from  which  institution  he  was  grad- 
uated in  1623.  He  was  well  acquainted  with 
the  original  languages  of  the  Bible,  and  set 
about  his  work  with  confidence  and  enthusiasm. 
His  first  efforts  at  learning  the  language  of  the 
Indian  tribes  of  Massachusetts  were  made 
through  the  assistance  of  an  Indian  who  had 
been  taken  a  prisoner  in  the  Pequot  Wars,  who 
was  employed  in  the  neighborhood  as  a  house 
servant.  "  He  was,"  says  Eliot,  "  the  first  that 
I  made  use  of  to  teach  me  words,  and  to  be  my 
interpreter."  Eliot  made  such  progress  in  his 
knowledge  of  the  language  that  in  1646  he  was 
able  to  preach  to  the  Indians  in  their  native 
tongue.  But,  before  he  could  place  into  the 
hands  of  these  converts  books  of  instruction, 
financial  help  was  requisite. 

In  1643  the,  colonies  of  Massachusetts,  Plym- 
outh,   Connecticut,   and   New   Haven    entered 


THE  ELIOT  BIBLE.  3 

into  articles  of  confederation  to  aid  the  Indians, 
and  each  colony  was  represented  by  two  com- 
missioners. This  move  received  the  approval 
of  the  mother-country,  for  in  July,  1649,  the 
Corporation  for  the  Promoting  and  Propagating 
of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  in  New  England 
was  formed  by  act  of  Parliament ;  and  commis- 
sioners of  the  united  colonies  were  appointed 
to  receive  and  distribute  the  necessary  funds 
for  the  education  of  the  Indians.  In  1653 
Eliot  wrote :  "  I  have  had  a  great  longing  de- 
sire, if  it  were  the  will  of  God,  that  our  Indian 
language  might  be  sanctified  by  the  translation 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures  into  it."  The  Lord's 
Prayer,  the  Ten  Commandments,  and  a  few 
passages  of  the  Bible,  were  first  attempted.  A 
primer,  or  catechism,  appeared  about  1654. 
The  Book  of  Genesis  and  the  Gospel  of  St.  Mat- 
thew were  in  print  in  1655,  and  a  few  Psalms 
in  metre  were  added  in  1658.  The  printing 
of  these  early  productions  was  executed  by 
Samuel  Green  at  Cambridge.  The  first  press 
used  in  this  place  was  set  up  in  1639,  and  was 


4  EARLY  BIBLES. 

the  property  of  the  president  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege, the  Rev.  Henry  Dunster.  It  was  worked 
by  Stephen  Daye  until  1649,  when  the  manage- 
ment of  it  was  turned  over  to  Samuel  Green. 
A  new  press  and  new  type  were  received  in 
1659,  and  in  1660  Green  was  joined  by  Marma- 
duke  Johnson,  who  had  been  sent  from  Eng- 
land to  aid  him  in  his  work.  With,  these 
increased  facilities  Mr.  Eliot  became  more  and 
more  anxious  that  the  Indian  tribes  might  have 
the  Bible  in  their  own  tongue.  He  said :  "  I 
look  at  it  as  a  sacred  and  holy  work,  to  be  re- 
garded with  much  fear,  care,  and  reverence." 
Under  the  stimulus  of  such  exalted  motives  as 
these  the  translation  went  on  day  by  day,  until 
under  date  of  Dec.  28,  1658,  Mr.  Eliot  with 
evident  joy  writes :  "  Bless  the  Lord,  that  the 
whole  book  of  God  is  translated  into  their  own 
language ;  it  wanteth  but  revising,  transcribing, 
and  printing.  Oh  that  the  Lord  would  so 
move  that  by  some  means  or  other  it  might  be 
printed  !  "  His  appeal  was  not  in  vain,  for  the 
funds  were  provided  by  the  Corporation  in 


THE  ELIOT  BIBLE.  5 

England.  The  New  Testament  in  the  Indian 
language  appeared  in  1661.  The  edition  was 
about  fifteen  hundred  copies.  There  are  two 
title-pages,  the  first  in  English  and  the  second 
in  Indian.  The  English  title-page  reads  — 

THE  NEW 

TESTAMENT 

of  our 
LORD  AND  SAVIOUR  JESUS  CHRIST. 

Translated  into  the 
INDIAN    LANGUAGE, 

and 
Ordered  to  be  printed  by  the  Commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies 

IN  NEW  ENGLAND, 

AT  THE  CHARGE,  AND  WITH  THE  CONSENT  OF  THE 

CORPORATION  IN  ENGLAND 

For  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel  amongst  the  Indians 
IN  NEW  ENGLAND. 

CAMBRIDG  : 

PRINTED  BY  SAMUEL  GREEN  AND  MARMADUKE  JOHNSON. 

MDCLXI. 


6  EARLY  BIBLES. 

The  Indian  title-page  reads  as  follows :  — 

WUSKU 
WUTTESTAMENTUM 

NUL-LORDUMUN 

JESUS  CHRIST 

NUPPOQUOHWUSSUAENEUMUN. 

CAMBRIDGE  : 

PRINTED  BY  SAMUEL  GREEN  AND  MARMADUKE  JOHNSON. 
MDCLXI. 

The  translation  of  the  Indian  reads  — 

NEW 

HIS-TESTAMENT 

OUR-LORD 

JESUS  CHRIST 
OUR-DELIVERER. 

The  book  in  size  is  a  small  quarto  of  130 
printed  leaves  without  pagination.  By  exact 
measurement  the  leaves  are  7f  inches  by  5j 
inches,  while  the  printed  pages  are  6f  inches  by 
4(j  inches.  The  text  is  in  double  columns  with 
marginal  references.  The  Indian  language 
from  St.  Matthew  to  Revelation  covers  126 


THE  ELIOT  BIBLE.  1 

pages.  Between  the  two  title-pages  there  is  a 
dedication  in  English  to  Charles  the  Second.1 
This  is  found  only  in  a  limited  number  of 
copies  intended  for  presentation.  There  is  a 
diamond-shaped  figure  of  thirty-two  printers' 
flowers  on  the  Indian  title-page,  and  this  famil- 
iar ornamentation  is  common  to  nearly  all  the 
Eliot  Testaments.  Forty  copies  of  the  New 
Testament  with  the  English  title-page  and 
kingly  dedication  were  sent  to  Hon.  Robert 
Boyle,  the  governor  of  the  Corporation  in 
England.  The  first  twenty  were  sent  in  1661, 
and  the  remaining  twenty  in  1662.  The  first 
copy  was  presented  to  Charles  the  Second. 
The  second  was  given  to  Lord  High  Chancellor 
Edward  Hyde,  Earl  of  Clarendon ;  the  third,  to 
Rev.  Edward  Reynolds,  D.D.,  the  Bishop  of 
Norwich ;  the  fourth,  tp  the  Rev.  Joseph  Caryl ; 
the  fifth,  to  the  Rev:  Richard  Baxter ;  and  the 
sixth  and  seventh,  to  the  Vice  Chancellors  of 
the  universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge. 
The  thirteen  copies  that  remained,  and  the 
second  lot  of  twenty,  were  left  to  the  disposal 

1  Appendix  A. 


8  EARLY  BIBLES. 

of  Mr.  William  Ashurst  and  Mr.  Richard 
Hutchinson,  officers  of  the  English  Corporation. 

Copies  of  the  New  Testament  of  1661,  solely 
in  Indian  and  without  the  English  title-page, 
were  bound  up,  but  the  exact  number  is  not 
known.  The  Eliot  New  Testament  of  1661  is 
now  an  exceedingly  rare  book,  as  only  nine- 
teen copies  have  been  located.  Two  copies  are 
in  the  British  Museum,  and  two  in  the  Lenox 
Library,  New  York.  Trinity  College  (Dublin), 
Glasgow  University,  Edinburgh  University, 
Bodleian  Library  (Oxford),  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society  (London),  Town  Library, 
Leicester,  Eng.,  Harvard  University,  and  the 
Boston  Athenaeum,  each  possesses  a  copy.  The 
remaining  seven  are  in  private  libraries. 

The  hopeful  work  accomplished  among  the 
Indians  encouraged  Mr.  Eliot  in  placing  the 
whole  Bible  in  their  hands.  The  printing  of 
the  Old  Testament  began  in  September,  1660, 
and  by  the  same  month  in  the  following  year 
the  five  books  of  Moses  were  completed.  The 
commissioners  in  September,  1662,  wrote  to  Mr. 


THE  ELIOT  BIBLE.  9 

Boyle  fiom  Boston,  saying,  "  The  Bible  is  now 
about  half  done ;  and  constant  progress  therein 
is  made  ;  the  other  half  is  like  to  be  finished  in 
a  year." 

In  1663  the  completed  Bible  appeared.  It 
contains  four  title-pages.  The  first  is  in  Eng- 
lish and  reads  thus :  — 

THE 
HOLY     BIBLE: 

CONTAINING  THE 

OLD     TES  T AMENT 

AND  THE  NEW. 
Translated  into  the 

INDIAN    LANGUAGE, 

and 
Ordered  to  be  printed  by  the  Commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies 

in  NEW-ENGLAND, 
At  the  Charge,  and  with  the  Consent  of  the 

CORPORATION    IN    ENGLAND 

For  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  amongst  the  Indians 
in  New-England. 

CAMBRIDGE: 

Printed  by  Samuel  Green  and  Marmaduke  Johnson. 
MDCLXIII. 


10  EARLY  BIBLES. 

The  second  title,  which  is  in  Indian,  is  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

MAMUSSE 

WUNNE  ET  UP  AN  AT  AMWE 

UP-BIBL  UM    GOD 

NANEESWE 

NUKKONE     TESTAMENT 

KAH  WONK 

WUSKU  TESTAMENT.    . 

Ne  quoshkumumuk  nashpe  Wuttiuneumoh  CHRIST 
noh  asoowesit 

JOHN    ELIOT. 

CAMBRIDGE: 

Printeuoop  nashpe  Samuel  Green  kah  Marmaduke  Johnson. 
1663. 

Literally  translated,  these  words  read  — 

THE  WHOLE 

HOLY  HIS   BIBLE   GOD 

both 
OLD  TESTAMENT 

and  also 
NEW  TESTAMENT. 

THIS  TURNED  BY  THE  SERVANT  OF  CHRIST 
WHO  IS  CALLED 

JOHN  ELIOT. 


M  A  M  V  S  $  E 

WUNNEETUPANATAMWE  \$Z> 


UP-BIBLUM    GOD  £ 

NAREESWE 


gNUKKONE    TESTAMENTjjg 

2s j  KAH   WONK  j|*; 

WUSKU  TESTAMENT. 


Ne  C[uofhkinnumui  nafhpc  "Wurtinneumob  £ffjRI$7 

nob  afoowclic 


JOHN    ELIOT- 


Fac-simile  of  the  Indian  title  page  of  the  Eliot  Bible  of  1663.    Keduced  size. 


THE  ELIOT  BIBLE.  11 

The  third  and  fourth  title-pages  are  contained 
in  the  New  Testament;  and,  as  they  are  the 
same  as  in  the  edition  of  1661,  the  description 
need  not  be  repeated.  At  the  end  of  the  Old 
Testament  are  the  words  "  Wohkukquohsinwog 
Quoshodtumwaenuog  ; "  that  is,  "  The  Prophets 
are  ended."  The  New  Testament  is  followed 
by  a  metrical  version  of  the  Psalms.  There  is 
no  title-page  to  the  Psalms,  but  this  head- 
ing: "  Wame  Ketoohomae  Uketoohomaongash 
David  ;  "  meaning,  "  All  the  Singing  Songs  of 
David."  At  the  close,  on  one  leaf,  are  rules 
for  Christian  living,  consisting  of  two  ques- 
tions, — "  How  can  I  walk  all  day  long  with 
God  ? "  and  "  What  should  a  Christian  do  to 
keep  perfectly  holy  the  Sabbath  Day  ?  "  —  with 
the  answers. 

The  book  is  a  quarto  in  size  and  printed 
upon  excellent  paper.  The  pages  measure  6| 
inches  by  4f  inches.  Genesis  and  the  other 
books  to  the  end  of  the  Old  Testament  cover 
414  leaves ;  and  St.  Matthew  to  the  end  of  the 
New  Testament,  126  leaves.  The  Psalms  in 


12  EARLY  BIBLES. 

metre  fill  50  leaves,  and  the  total  number  of 
printed  pages  in  the  Bible  is  600.  There  is  a 
dedication1  to  Charles  the  Second  covering  two 
pages.  This  differs  in  wording  from  the  first 
that  appeared  in  the  edition  of  1661,  as  it  is  a 
dedication  of  the  whole  Bible  to  His  Majesty. 
As  in  the  case  of  the  New  Testament,  presenta- 
tion copies  of  the  Bible  of  1663  were  sent  to  the 
English  Corporation,  to  be  disposed  of  as  that 
body  should  elect.  The  number  thus  sent  was 
twenty,  in  an  unbound  condition.  In  England 
they  were  substantially  bound  in  dark-blue 
morocco.  What  disposition  was  made  of  these 
twenty  volumes,  and  who  became  their  recipi- 
ents, is  not  known,  except  that  one  copy  was 
presented  Charles  the  Second. 

A  portion  of  the  edition  of  1663  was  bound 
up  for  the  use  of  the  Indians,  and  contained  no 
English  title-pages  and  dedication,  for  it  was 
wholly  in  the  Indian  tongue.  The  copies  pre- 
viously spoken  of  as  having  the  English  title- 
pages  and  dedication  are  marked  by  certain 
variations.  Mr.  Wilberforce  Eames,  in  his 

1  Appendix  B. 


THE  ELIOT  BIBLE.  13 

"Bibliographic  Notes  on  Eliot's  Indian  Bible 
and  his  other  Translations  and  Works  in  the 
Indian  Language  of  Massachusetts,"  printed  at 
Washington  by  the  Government  in  1890,  makes 
a  classification  of  seven  varieties.  He  says  : l 
44  These  differ  in  the  number  of  certain  prelimi- 
nary leaves :  namely,  the  dedication  of  the 
whole  Bible,  the  Indian  general  title,  the  leaf 
of  contents,  the  English  New  Testament  title, 
and  the  dedication  of  the  New  Testament,  one 
or  more  of  which  are  generally  omitted;  also 
in  the  Indian  New  Testament  title,  which 
sometimes  does  not  contain  the  diamond-shaped 
figure."  Those  persons  who  desire  to  study 
these  differences  critically  are  referred  to  Mr. 
Eames's  valuable  work. 

Dr.  E.  B.  O'Callaghan,  in  his  "  List  of  Bibles 
printed  in  America,"  points  out  sixty  errors  in 
the  printing  of  the  Eliot  Bible  of  1663,  and 
most  of  these  were  caused  by  the  omission  of 
certain  words  and  sentences  from  the  trans- 
lation. A  ludicrous  mistake  was  made  in  the 
rendering  of  the  twenty-third  verse  of  the 

*  Bibliographic  Notes,  p.  16. 


14  EARLY  BIBLES. 

second  chapter  of  the  2  Kings,  —  "  Go  up,  thou 
bald  head,"  —  to  which  Dr.  Trumbull  has  called 
attention.  He  says : l  "In  the  Indian,  the  last 
word  literally  is  4  ball-head '  (4  pompasuhkonkan- 
ontup').  Either  the  interpreter  mistook  the 
word  as  pronounced  by  Eliot,  or  he  thought  it 
well  to  aggravate  the  insult  by  likening  Elisha's 
smooth  head  to  a  foot-ball ;  for  'pompasuhkonk' 
denotes  a  ball  to  play  with." 

Considering  the  difficulties  that  had  to  be 
encountered  in  printing  the  first  Bible  in  Amer- 
ica, it  is  a  matter  of  surprise  that  the  errors 
were  not  more  numerous.  Presses,  type,  ink, 
and  paper  had  to  be  imported,  coming  long 
distances,  and  by  slow  means  of  conveyance. 
Workmen  were  few,  and  the  sources  of  instruc- 
tion limited.  The  Algonkin  was  a  harsh  lan- 
guage, and  it  had  no  equivalents  for  certain 
English  words.  Salt  was  unknown  to  the 
Indians,  and  hence  the  word  had  to  be  inserted 
without  translation.  The  same  was  true  of 
"Amen"  and  some  other  terms.  The  words 
of  the  language  were  so  extremely  long  that 

1  Memorial  History  of  Boston,  p.  473. 


THE  ELIOT  BIBLE.  15 

Cotton  Mather  thought  they  must  have  been 
stretching  themselves  out  from  the  time  of  the 
confusion  of  tongues  at  Babel.  Rev.  Dr.  Ellis 
playfully  says : l  "  To  us  it  seems  as  if  an  Indian 
root-word  started  little  and  compact,  like  one  of 
their  own  pappooses,  and  then  grew  at  either 
extremity,  thickened  in  the  middle,  extended  in 
shape  and  proportion  in  each  limb,  member,  and 
feature,  and  was  completed  with  a  feathered 
head-knot."  Some  impression  of  the  appearance 
of  the  language  may  be  had  by  the  following 
version  of  the  Lord's  Prayer :  — 

Nooshun  kesukqut,  quttianatamunach  koowesuonk.  Pe- 
yaumooutch  kukketassootamoonk,  kuttenantamoonk  ne  n 
nach  ohkeit  neane  kesukqut.  Nummeetsuongash  asekesu- 
kokish  assamainnean  yeuyeu  kesukok.  Kah  ahquoantam- 
aiinnean  nummatcheseongash,  neane  matchenehukqweagig 
nutahquontamounnonog.  Ahque  sagkompagunaiinnean  en 
qutchhuaouganit,  webe  pohquohwussinnean  wutch  matchi- 
tut.  Newutche  kutahtaunn  ketassootamoonk,  kah  menuh- 
kesuonk,  kah  sohsumoonk  micheme.  Amen. 

The  completion  of  the  Bible  of  1663  brought 
great  joy  to  the  heart  of  Mr.  Eliot,  not  only 
because  it  was  a  great  event  in  the  art  of  print- 

*  Memorial  History  of  Boston,  vol.  i.  p.  270. 


16  EARLY  BIBLES. 

ing,  but  chiefly  for  the  reason  that  it  facilitated 
his  work  among  the  Indians.  Cotton  Mather 
could  hardly  contain  himself  in  his  enthusiasm 
of  thanksgiving.  In  his  "Magnalia"  he  thus 
writes:  "Behold,  ye  Americans,  the  greatest 
honor  that  ever  you  were  partakers  of.  The 
Bible  was  printed  here  at  our  Cambridge,  and 
is  the  only  Bible  that  ever  was  printed  in  all 
America,  from  the  very  foundation  of  the 
world.  The  whole  translation  he  writ  with 
but  one  pen  ;  which  pen,  if  it  had  not  been  lost, 
would  have  certainly  deserved  a  richer  case 
than  was  bestowed  upon  that  pen  with  which 
Holland  writ  his  translation  of  Plutarch." 
Francis,  in  his  "  Life  of  John  Eliot,"  doubts  the 
statement  about  the  translation  being  written 
with  but  one  pen,  and  says  Mather's  "story 
seems  more  precise  than  credible." l 

In  1680  a  second  edition  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment appeared.  The  upper  part  of  the  title- 
page  is  in  Indian,  while  the  lower  contains  the 
words,  "  Cambridge,  Printed  for  the  Right  Hon- 

i  Francis.    Life  of  Eliot,  p.  227. 


THE  ELIOT  BIBLE.  17 

curable  Corporation  in  London  for  the  propaga- 
tion of  the  Gospel  among  the  Indians  in  New 
England.  1680."  No  mention  is  made  of  the 
printer  or  printers. 

Mr.  Eliot  was  desirous  of  seeing  a  new  im- 
pression of  the  whole  Bible,  as  many  copies  of 
the  edition  of  1663  had  been  lost  or  destroyed 
during  the  score  of  years  since  it  was  printed. 
The  Indian  war  of  1675-76  had  contributed  also 
to  this  result.  Mr.  Eliot  began  the  new  version 
in  1677,  and  desired  the  work  to  be  accelerated, 
for  he  said,  "  My  age  makes  me  importunate." 
That  great  spiritual  good  had  been  accomplished 
is  evident,  for  in  the  earliest  years  of  his  work 
Eliot  wrote  of  the  Indians :  "  It  hath  pleased 
God  to  stir  up  the  hearts  of  many  of  them  this 
winter  to  learn  to  read  and  write,  wherein  they 
do  much  profit  with  a  very  little  help,  especially 
some  of  them,  for  they  are  very  ingenious."  In 
1680  Mr.  Eliot  wrote :  "  I  shall  depart  joyfully, 
may  I  but  have  the  Bible  among  them,  for  it  is 
the  word  of  life."  This  desire  for  a  fresh  sup- 
ply of  Bibles  was  not  alone  Eliot's  wish,  for  he 


18  EARLY  BIBLES. 

says  under  date  of  November  4,  1680 :  "  Our 
praying  Indians  both  in  the  islands  and  on  the 
main,  are  considered  together,  numerous;  thou- 
sands of  souls,  of  whom  some  true  believers,  some 
learners,  and  some  still  infants,  and  all  of  them, 
beg,  cry,  entreat  for  Bibles,  having  already  en- 
joyed that  blessing,  but  now  are  in  great  want." 
The  press-work  on  the  Old  Testament  began  in 
1682,  but  the  progress  was  slow,  for  Mr.  Eliot 
writes :  "  We  have  but  few  hands,  one  English- 
man, a  boy,  and  one  Indian." 

The  Indian  referred  to  was  a  man  known  as 
James  Printer,  who  had  worked  on  the  first 
edition.  He  seems  to  have  been  well  fitted  for 
his  task,  for  Eliot  in  1682  writes  of  him: 
"  We  have  but  one  man,  the  Indian  printer,  that 
is  able  to  compose  the  sheets  and  correct  the 
press  with  understanding."  Mr.  Eliot  also  re- 
cords his  indebtedness  to  Rev.  John  Cotton  of 
Plymouth,  "  who  helped  me  much  in  the  second 
edition  of  the  Bible." 

In  the  autumn  of  1685  the  second  and  last 
version  of  the  Indian  Bible  appeared.  Extant 


THE  ELIOT  BIBLE.  19 

copies  show  that  this  is  in  leading  particulars 
a  reproduction  of  the  first  edition.  This  is  im- 
plied on  the  title-page,  where  the  Indian  sen- 
tence occurs,  "  Nahoht6eu  ontchetSe  Printeuoo- 
muk ;  "  which,  translated,  means  "  Second-time 
amended  impression."  The  name  only  of  Samuel 
Green  appears  as  printer.  Like  the  previous 
Bible,  the  contents  consist  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  the  Psalms  in  metre,  and  the 
rules  for  Christian  living.  It  is  similar  to  it 
also  in  being  printed  in  double  columns  with 
headings  and  side  references.  The  whole 
book  is  printed  on  608  leaves  without  pagi- 
nation; that  is,  a  few  more  leaves  than  the 
Bible  of  1663,  which  is  accounted  for  by  the 
addition  of  summaries  at  the  head  of  the  chap- 
ters. It  contains  no  English  title-pages,  as 
they  are  solely  in  Indian.  A  few  of  the  copies 
had  a  l  dedication  in  English  to  Hon.  Robert 
Boyle,  the  head  of  the  Corporation  in  Eng- 
land. Mr.  Boyle  had  been  a  most  substan- 
tial helper  in  advancing  the  welfare  of  the 
Indians  in  New  England.  He  had  not  only  in- 

1  Appendix  C. 


20  EARLY  BIBLES. 

fluenced  the  English  Corporation  to  sustain  the 
work  financially,  but  had  given  out  of  his  per- 
sonal means  £300  toward  it,  and  also  provided 
for  an  additional  gift  of  £100  in  his  will.  Mr. 
Eliot  was  profoundly  grateful  for  the  solid 
interest  Mr.  Boyle  had  taken  in  his  plans,  and  in 
his  letters  addressed  him  as  "  Right  honourable 
nursing  father."  Copies  of  the  Bible  of  1685 
with  the  Boyle  dedication  are  now  extremely 
scarce,  as  only  twelve  are  known  to  exist,  and 
nine  of  these  are  in  public  libraries. 

The  errors  in  printing  the  Bible  of  1663  were 
corrected  in  the  second  edition.  While  the  lat- 
ter is  not  without  errors,  they  are  chiefly,  as  Dr. 
O'Callaghan  has  shown,  mistakes  in  the  spelling 
of  words.  Dr.  Trumbull  has  called  attention  to 
the  omission  of  the  sentence,  "  but  deceiveth  his 
own  heart,"  in  St.  James  1 :  26.  In  the  second 
edition  the  error  is  corrected  in  a  foot-note. 
The  improved  condition  of  the  Bible  of  1685 
over  the  first  edition  makes  the  second  edition 
a  more  desirable  book  to  those  who  wish  to 
know  something  of  the  Indian  language. 


THE  ELIOT  BIBLE.  21 

A  recent  writer  very  justly  says :  "  While  the 
first  edition  of  Eliot's  Bible  is  the  more  attrac- 
tive to  collectors  of  rare  Americana,  and  de- 
serves the  pre-eminence  that  is  accorded  to  it, 
as  a  monument  of  early  typography,  and  as  the 
first  version  of  the  Bible  printed  in  the  New 
World,  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  to  the 
student  of  the  American  languages,  and  to  the 
general  philologist,  the  second  is  the  more  valu- 
able ;  and  that  all  critical  references  to  Eliot's 
version  are  or  should  be  made  to  this  revised 
and  corrected  edition." 

To  collectors  of  rare  books  the  Eliot  Bibles 
are  coveted  treasures.  As  the  years  roll  away 
the  price  of  these  rarities  steadily  rises.1  At  the 
sale  of  the  Brinley  library  in  New  York,  March, 
1879,  an  Eliot  New  Testament  of  1661  brought 
$700.  At  the  same  sale  a  Bible  of  1663  was 
knocked  down  at  $1,000.  At  an  auction  in 
1884  a  Bible  of  1685  brought  $950.  In  Lon- 
don, at  a  sale  held  July  2,  1882,  Mr.  Quaritch, 
the  eminent  bibliophile,  bought  for  the  late  Mr. 

1  Appendix  E. 


22  EARLY  BIBLES. 

Kalbfleisch  of  New  York  an  Eliot  Bible  of 
1663,  containing  the  English  title-pages,  and 
dedication  to  Charles  the  Second,  for  £580 ;  that 
is,  about  $2,900.  Eighteen  years  ago  Mr.  Na- 
thaniel Paine  of  Worcester,  Mass.,  made  a  list 
of  the  Eliot  Bibles.  By  his  count  the  total 
reached  fifty-four.  Since  then  several  copies, 
especially  those  owned  privately,  have  changed 
hands,  and  others  have  come  to  light.  The 
writer  has  found  twelve  copies  that  have  not 
been  previously  noticed  or  included  in  any  list. 
There  are  more  Eliot  Bibles  in  the  great  libra- 
ries of  Europe  than  was  at  first  supposed.  The 
total  number  of  Indian  New  Testaments  and 
Bibles  now  known  to  exist  is  more  than  one 
hundred.1 

There  are  many  interesting  associations  con- 
nected with  copies  of  the  Eliot  Bibles,  as  they 
have  been  in  the  possession  of  kings,  princes, 
statesmen,  prelates,  and  great  schools  of  learn- 
ing. There  is  in  the  Bodleian  Library,  Oxford, 
an  Eliot  Bible  of  1661,  which  was  given  by 
1  Appendix  D. 


THE  ELIOT  BIBLE.  23 

Ralph  Freke  in  1668.  The  year  before  he  had 
received  it  from  Harvard  College.  It  contains 
the  following  inscription :  — 

"  By  order  of  the  overseers  of  Harvard  Colleg  in  Cam- 
bridg  in  New  Engld,  To  the  Right  worshippi  Ralph  Freke, 
Esq.,  a  noble  benefactor  to  the  aforesayd  Colleg.  1667." 

Mr.  Freke  was  one  of  the  subscribers  who 
gave  Harvard  College  its  first  font  of  type. 
It  may  be  that  this  Bible  was  printed  from  the 
type  thus  presented. 

The  University  of  Virginia  has  a  copy  of  the 
first  edition  of  the  Eliot  Bible  that  was  once 
the  property  of  Dr.  C.  D.  Ebeling,  the  German 
historian.  At  his  death  his  library  was  pur- 
chased by  Mr.  Israel  Thorndike  of  Boston,  who 
presented  it  to  Harvard  University  in  1818. 
As  the  University  had  another  copy  of  Eliot, 
the  corporation,  at  a  meeting  held  June  22, 
1819,  directed  the  treasurer  to  dispose  of  the 
Ebeling  Bible.  By  some  train  of  circumstances 
it  came  into  the  possession  of  the  University  of 
Virginia,  where  it  has  been  since  1828,  as  the 
book  catalogue  of  the  institution  shows.  It 


24  EARLY  BIBLES. 

contains  Dr.  Ebeling's  autograph,  and  this  in- 
scription on  the  fly-leaf:  "Biblia  Sacra  in  lin- 
guam  Indorum  American*  gentis  Twv  Natick 
translata  a  Johanne  Eliot  Missionario  Angli- 
cano.  Impressa  Cantabrigiae  Novae  Angliae 
oppido.  Liber  suramae  raritatis.  V.  Clement. 
Bibl.  cur.  T.  iv.  Freytag  Anacleta." 

Increase  Mather,  while  president  of  Harvard 
College,  presented  the  universities  at  Utrecht 
and  Leyden,  Holland,  with  Eliot  Bibles  of 
1685,  which  are  still  preserved  in  the  libra- 
ries of  those  institutions.  The  Eliot  of  1663, 
in  the  library  of  the  British  Museum,  was 
once  the  property  of  Hon.  Edward  Everett, 
United  States  minister  to  Great  Britain.  He 
presented  it  to  Hon.  Thomas  Grenville,  who 
bequeathed  his  library  to  the  Museum.  Hon. 
Rufus  King,  minister  to  England  in  1796,  was 
the  owner  of  an  Eliot  Bible  of  1685,  which  is 
now  in  the  hands  of  his  descendants  in  this 
country.  Hon.  Thomas  Aspinwall,  United 
States  consul  in  England  in  1815,  possessed 
an  Eliot  New  Testament  of  1661.  Brown  Uni- 


THE  ELIOT  BIBLE.  25 

versity,  Providence,  R.I.,  has  a  copy  of  the 
same  year,  which  belonged  to  Roger  Williams, 
and  has  notes  in  the  margin  in  his  own  hand- 
writing. The  Bible  in  the  library  of  Yale  Col- 
lege has  the  signature  of  John  Winthrop,  doubts 
less  the  Winthrop  who  was  governor  of  Con- 
necticut in  1698.  Mr.  Morgan  of  New  York 
owns  a  first  edition  of  Eliot  that  has  the  signa- 
ture of  White  Kennett,  who  was  the  Bishop  of 
Peterborough  in  1718.  One  of  the  finest  and 
most  desirable  of  the  Eliot  Bibles  of  1663  is 
known  to  collectors  as  "  the  Allan  copy,"  from 
its  having  belonged  to  John  Allan,  the  antiqua- 
rian. It  is  one  of  the  "  Royal "  copies,  contain- 
ing the  dedication  to  Charles  the  Second.  It 
contains  the  autograph  of  William  Ashurst, 
who  was  an  active  member  of  the  Corporation 
for  Propagating  the  Gospel  in  New  England, 
and  who  became  eventually  its  Governor.  This 
gives  this  Bible  peculiar  interest.  It  was  sold 
at  the  Brinley  sale  for  $900,  and  is  now  the 
property  of  Mrs.  Laura  Eliot  Cutter  of  Brook- 
lyn, N.Y.,  who  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  John 


26  EARLY  BIBLES. 

Eliot  by  the  sixth  generation.  The  Eliot  that 
originally  belonged  to  the  Marquis  of  Hast- 
ings is  in  the  library  of  the  late  John  Carter 
Brown,  Providence,  R.I.  As  might  be  ex- 
pected, there  are  several  Bibles  that  contain  the 
signatures  of  their  former  Indian  owners,  and 
these  books  in  most  cases  give  evidence  in 
blackened  and  well-thumbed  pages  of  the  con- 
stant use  they  had  in  their  day. 

John  Eliot  died  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty- 
six,  after  a  life  replete  with  usefulness.  His 
unselfishness,  his  devotion  to  duty,  his  broad 
sympathies,  his  strength  and  gentleness  of  char- 
acter, all  made  him  a  central  figure  in  the  history 
of  colonial  times  in  America.  De  Ponseau  called 
him  "  The  Augustine  of  New  England."  But 
the  title  "  The  Apostle  to  the  Indians  "  has  for 
generations  been  associated  with  his  name  wher- 
ever mentioned.  In  literature  it  appeared  early, 
for  Dr.  Leuden,  who  was  professor  of  Hebrew 
at  Utrecht,  Holland,  dedicated  in  1661  his  Eng- 
lish and  Hebrew  Psalter  to  Eliot,  "  the  venera- 
ble Apostle  to  the  Indians  in  America."  The 


THE  ELIOT  BIBLE.  27 

first  use  of  the  appellation  is  attributed  to  Rev. 
Thomas  Thorowgood,  who  first  used  it  in  1660. 
It  was  well  applied ;  for  Eliot  had  the  apostolic 
spirit,  as  indicated  in  a  life-long  consecration. 
Evidently  the  thought  that  guided  him  at  all 
times  was  that  which  he  once  wrote  on  the  blank 
leaf  of  his  Indian  grammar  in  these  words : 
**  Prayers  and  pains,  through  Christ  Jesus,  will 
do  anything." 


THE  SAUR  BIBLE. 


DUKING  the  early  days  of  the  American  col- 
onies many  Germans  settled  in  Pennsylvania. 
They  were  as  a  class  frugal  and  peaceable. 
They  preferred,  for  the  most  part,  the  agri- 
cultural districts,  where,  by  their  industry,  they 
acquired  homes,  and  earned  a  generous  living. 
Among  these  settlers  was  Christopher  Saur,1  a 
man  who  rose  to  a  position  of  commanding 
influence  among  his  countrymen.  He  was  born 
at  Laasphe  in  Witgenstein,  Germany,  in  1693. 
He  received  his  education  at  the  University  of 
Halle,  where  he  studied  medicine.  He  came  to 
this  country  in  1724,  and  settled  at  German- 

1  Mr.  Saur  changed  the  spelling  of  his  name  when  writing 
in  English  to  Sower,  and  his  descendants  follow  the  same 
spelling.  For  the  sake  of  uniformity,  the  German  way  of 
spelling  the  word,  as  found  on  the  titlepage  of  the  Saur 
Bible,  has  been  retained  in  this  article. 
28 


BIBLIA 


Fac-simile  of  the  title-page  of  the  Saur  Bible  of  1743.    Reduced  size. 


THE  SAUR  BIBLE.  29 

town,  but  in  the  same  year  went  to  Lancaster 
County  and  engaged  in  farming.  In  1731  he 
returned  to  Germantown,  and  followed  the 
practice  of  medicine.  As  he  was  a  man  of 
decided  convictions  in  matters  of  morality  and 
religion,  he  became  interested  in  bettering  the 
temporal  and  spiritual  condition  of  the  Ger- 
mans about  him.  He  found  them  destitute  to  a 
great  extent  of  reading  matter  in  their  own 
tongue.  He  at  once  began  to  import  Bibles 
and  various  religious  books  for  their  use.  As 
many  of  them  were  poor,  he  induced  several 
Bible  societies  in  Germany  to  donate  copies  of 
the  Scriptures,  and  especially  the  publishing 
houses  at  Halle  and  Biidingen.  As  time  went 
on,  and  the  intellectual  wants  of  the  German 
people  became  more  evident,  he  urged  the  pub- 
lication of  books  and  papers  in  America.  He 
knew  nothing  of  printing;  but  an  emergency 
arose  which  drew  him  into  the  business,  which 
he  followed  the  remainder  of  his  life  with  devo- 
tion and  enthusiasm.  Thomas  says,  "  The  Bap- 
tists, or  Tunkers,  in  Germany  raised  by  sub- 


30  EARLY  BIBLES. 

scription  a  sum  of  money,  in  order  to  purchase 
religious  books  and  disperse  them  among  their 
poor  friends  in  Pennsylvania,  and  to  establish  a 
press  there  to  print  for  the  same  purpose. 
Accordingly  a  press  and  types,  with  a  quantity 
of  books,  were  sent  out  and  intrusted  to  the 
management  of  a  German  Baptist  by  the  name 
of  Jacob  Gaus.  He  was  to  have  the  use  of, 
and  the  emolument  arising  from,  the  press,  on 
condition  that  he  should  distribute  a  certain 
number  of  copies  of  each  of  the  religious  books 
he  should  print  among  the  poor  Germans. 
This  person  did  not  possess  the  ability  necessary 
for  the  undertaking,  and  no  other  person  who 
was  thought  to  have  sufficient  ability  for  the 
purpose  was  found  to  take  his  place.  The  busi- 
ness was  suspended,  and  the  press  and  type 
viewed  as  useless  lumber."  1  It  was  at  this 
point  that  Mr.  Saur  came  into  possession  of  the 
property.  He  set  up  his  press,  imported  work- 
men from  Germany,  and  launched  his  publish- 
ing enterprise. 

In  1738  he  began  the  printing  of  an  almanac, 

1  Thomas's  History  of  Printing  in  America,  vol.  i.  p.  271. 


THE  SAUR  BIBLE.  31 

which  was  the  first  one  in  German  printed  in 
this  country.  It  was  very  small  at  first,  con- 
sisting of  only  twelve  pages.  It  was  enlarged 
in  1743  to  sixteen  pages,  but  by  1750  it  had 
increased  to  forty-eight  pages.  Its  publication 
was  continued  for  forty  years. 

So  great  was  the  faith  of  the  Germans  in  the 
integrity  of  Mr.  Saur  that  in  seriousness  they 
consulted  his  almanac  for  weather  predictions. 
A  farmer,  about  to  make  a  journey,  referred  to 
his  almanac  and  found  the  day  marked  "  fair.'* 
He  went  in  an  open  wagon,  but  ere  long  a 
shower  drenched  him  through  and  through.  In 
great  anger  he  called  upon  Mr.  Saur  for  an 
explanation.  The  sturdy  German  quietly  re- 
plied, "My  friend,  I  made  the  almanac,  but 
the  Almighty  made  the  weather."  Mr.  Saur 
printed  the  first  number  of  a  religious  news- 
paper on  August  20,  1739,  and  also  began  the 
publication  of  a  religious  quarterly,  in  German, 
in  1746.  These  publications  had  a  large  circu- 
lation among  the  German  population.  The 
newspaper  was  the  first  religious  newspaper 


32  EARLY  BIBLES. 

issued  in  this  country.  It  is  said  to  have 
reached  a  circulation  of  ten  thousand  copies, 
which  was  large  for  that  time. 

Through  this  almanac  and  newspaper  Mr. 
Saur  urged  the  publication  of  a  German  Bible, 
and  pleaded  for  help.  In  1739  he  issued  his 
Proposal.  It  is  in  several  respects  unique,  and 
worth  quoting  nearly  in  full.  He  writes,  — 

"  Therefore,  as  we  think  we  have  some  abilities  to  meet 
this  great  desideratum,  we  are  also  willing  to  contribute  all 
that  is  in  our  power  thereto.  But  as  the  publishing  of  such 
a  work  requires  a  much  greater  outlay  than  our  means  are 
adequate  to,  we  deem  it  necessary  that  all  the  subscribers, 
or,  to  speak  plainly,  all  those  who  desire  a  copy  of  the  Bible 
shall  notify  us,  and  pay  half  a  crown  which  is  necessary: 
First,  that  we  may  know  a  little  how  many  we  may  venture 
to  print.  Second,  to  assist  us  in  our  payments,  as  the  paper 
for  one  Bible  alone  costs  7s.  6d.  Thirdly,  that  if  we  should 
be  necessitated  to  involve  ourselves  by  loans  in  getting  it  up, 
we  may  have  something  to  depend  on  to  relieve  us  again 
from  our  embarrassments;  and  lastly,  as  the  country  is  so 
new  yet  that  we  have  no  example  of  the  kind  to  pattern 
after. 

"  The  form  shall  be  long  quarto;  that  is,  the  height  and 
breadth  like  this  page,  and  with  the  same  type,  which  we 
think  sufficiently  readable  to  old  and  young.  In  thickness, 
it  shall  be  about  the  breadth  of  a  hand,  for  we  are  willing  to 
take  good  paper  to  it. 

"Notes  or  comments  we  will  add  none,  as  we  hope  that 
all  those  who  read  the  Holy  Scriptures  with  a  sincere  heart, 


THE  SAUR  BIBLE.  33 

will,  through  the  teachings  of  the  fear  of  God,  which  is  the 
beginning  of  all  wisdom,  become  sufficiently  acquainted 
with  the  sinfulness  and  depravity  of  his  heart,  to  seek  for 
an  interest  in  the  Saviour,  through  whose  redeeming  power 
he  will  be  taught  to  love  Him  and  keep  His  words ;  then  the 
Father  will  love  him  and  come  unto  him,  and  they  will 
make  their  abode  with  him.  And  if  the  Godhead  thus 
dwells  in  him,  then  the  Holy  Ghost  will  be  the  best  com- 
mentator of  His  own  words ;  as  Moses,  the  Prophets,  and 
Christ,  the  Apostles,  and  Evangelists  have  spoken  and  re- 
corded them;  and  that,  then,  will  be  the  correctest  and 
most  reliable  commentary." 

"Concerning  the  price,  we  cannot  say  precisely:  First, 
because  we  do  not  know  yet  how  many  we  shall  print,  for 
the  smaller  the  number,  the  higher  the  price  will  be,  and 
the  larger  the  number,  the  lower  the  price  will  be.  Second, 
because  several  friends  of  the  Truth  have,  out  of  love  to 
God,  and  for  the  good  of  their  needy  neighbors,  already  con- 
tributed toward  it,  and  others  have  offered  to  do  so.  Partly, 
that  its  price  may  be  so  low  that  the  parsimonious  and 
avaricious  may  have  no  excuse,  and  those  of  lesser  means, 
no  burden.  Therefore,  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  such 
benefactors,  and  as  our  own  means  will  enable  us  to  do,  the 
price  will  be.  But  this  much  we  may  say,  that  all  unbound, 
none  shall  cost  over  fourteen  shillings,  which  we  hope  will 
not  be  thought  dear,  especially  when  we  consider  that  the 
paper  alone  is  at  least  four  times  as  high  here  as  it  is  in 
Germany." 

To  print  a  Bible  at  that  day  was  an  immense 
undertaking,  for  type  was  not  as  yet  manufac- 
tured in  the  new  country.  Workmen  were  few, 
and  financial  aid  slow  in  coming.  But  Mr. 


84  EARLY  BIBLES. 

Saur  persisted  in  his  appeals,  and  believed  in 
the  ultimate  success  of  his  plans.  He  appealed 
to  Germany  for  assistance,  as  well  as  to  friends 
in  America.  His  plea  was  not  in  vain.  Mr. 
Heinrich  Ehrenfried  Luther,  a  type-founder  of 
Frankfort-on-the-Main,  presented  him  with  a 
font  of  type,  asking  no  other  compensation  than 
to  receive  a  copy  of  the  Bible  when  completed. 

Mr.  Luther  was  not  only  a  prominent  type- 
founder, but  a  man  of  literary  attainments  who 
received  university  honors.  As  a  lawyer  of 
ability,  he  filled  the  position  of  Court  Coun- 
sellor of  Wiirtemberg.  At  that  time,  Frank- 
fort-on-the-Main was  one  of  the  four  free  cities 
of  Germany.  He  was  born  in  the  above  city  in 
the  year  1700,  and  died  in  1770. 

As  soon  as  the  type  was  received,  work  upon 
the  Bible  began.  The  book  was  three  years  in 
going  through  the  press,  and  the  last  sheet  was 
finished  in  August,  1743.  Considering  the 
early  day  at  which  the  Saur  Bible  was  printed, 
it  is  an  admirable  example  of  workmanship. 

It  was  the  first  Bible  printed  in  America  in 
a  European  language. 


THE  SAUR  BIBLE.  35 


The  Title-Page:  — 


3>a«  ifi:  |  bte  |  $eilige  ©thrift  |  2TIte8  unb 
XefJantentS,  |  nad)  ber  £>eutfd>en  Ueberfcfeung  |  £>r. 
£utt)er«,  |  2Jftt  jebe«  <£a#tel8  f  iirt?ett  <§ummarien,  aud)  ] 
betjgefugten  oielen  unb  ridjtigen  ^arallclen;  |  nebft  einem  Sin- 
^ang  |  S)e9  britten  unb  oierten  33ud)9  (Sjra  unb  bed  j  britten 
S3uci)«  ber  IKaccabaer.  | 
©ermantoron: 
|  ©ebrucf  t  bet)  <5  ^  r  t  f!  o  <)  ^  ®aur,  1743. 

Translation:  The  Bible,  That  is  the  Holy 
Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments, 
after  the  German  translation  of  Dr.  Martin 
Luther,  with  short  summaries  to  every  chapter, 
also  many  and  correct  parallel  references,  be- 
sides an  Appendix  of  the  Third  and  Fourth 
Books  of  Ezra,  and  the  Third  Book  of  Macca- 
bees. Germantown:  Printed  by  Christopher 
Saur.  1743. 

Collation:  Title,  one  leaf;  verso,  blank.  Pre- 
face, one  page.  Order  of  Books  of  Old  Testament, 
one  page.  Text,  pp.  1-805.  Apocrypha,  pp. 
806-949.  Appendix,  pp.  950-995.  New  Testa- 
ment title,  one  leaf.  Preface,  one  leaf.  Order 
of  Books,  one  page.  Text,  pp.  3-277.  Register 
of  Epistles  and  Gospels  for  Sundays  of  Christian 


36  EARLY  BIBLES. 

Year,  two  pages.  Register  of  Epistles  and  Gos- 
pels for  certain  Saints'  Days,  one  leaf.  Short 
history  of  translations  of  the  Bible,  four  pages. 

Preface  :  — 

"  WHILE  all  books  require  a  preface  by  means 
of  which  the  use  and  peculiarity  of  the  book  is 
briefly  described,  the  Bible  is  in  itself  suffi- 
ciently known,  and  itself  brings  all  that  can  only 
be  written  about ;  above  all  It  and  every  Scripture 
given  of  God  is  useful,  for  doctrine,  for  reproof, 
for  improvement,  for  instruction  in  righteousness, 
that  a  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  equipped  for 
all  good  works,  etc.  (2  Tim.  iii.  15, 16, 17).  The 
moving  causes  for  printing  this  present  Bible, 
have  been  chiefly,  as  may  be  perceived  :  Firstly, 
that  so  many  poor  Germans  come  to  the  country 
who  do  not  all  bring  Bibles.  Secondly,  that  so 
many  are  born  and  bred  in  the  land,  who  also 
do  not  all  know  how  to  obtain  Bibles,  and  it  is 
noticed  that  the  well-to-do  usually  care  for 
themselves  and  theirs. 

Luther's   translation    has   been   selected,   be- 


THE  SAUR  BIBLE.  37 

cause  most  in  keeping  with  the  usual  German 
idiom,  and  though  excellent  translations,  word 
for  word,  have  all  been  discriminated  in  admi- 
rable passages,  yet  his  simply  expresses  but  a 
single  idea.  It  is  sure  that  he  who  reads  those 
Scriptures  with  honest  heart,  which  are  clear 
and  plain  and  require  no  explanation,  will, 
through  Christ's  power,  attain  to  practice,  and 
will  remain  true  to  the  selfsame  One,  who  is  to 
be  placed  over  so  many  of  God's  mysteries  as 
are  needful  to  his  eternal  salvation ;  and  he  who 
will  be  a  doer  of  the  Word  and  not  merely  a 
hearer  or  reader,  deceive  neither  himself  nor 
another.  To  whomsoever  aught  appears  incom- 
prehensible in  reading,  and  he  lacks  true  wis- 
dom, let  him  ask  it  of  God,  who  gives  it  richly 
to  him  who  asks  in  faith  (James  i.  5).  And 
if  somewhat  be  not  granted  unto  him  for  a  sea- 
son, he  will  recognize  it  as  clear  as  the  sun  at 
another  time,  when  he  reaches  the  same  stand- 
point where  the  Scripture  is. 

The  Halle  Bible,  in  fact  its  34th  edition,  has 
been  taken ;  Firstly,  because  it  is  very  rich  in 


38  EARLY  BIBLES. 

parallels.  Secondly,  because  it  is  believed  that 
it  contains  the  fewest  printing  mistakes,  because 
the  type-setting  remains  standing.  The  accusa- 
tion that  one  has  mixed  his  own  with  it,  and 
not  followed  Luther's  translation,  is  regarded 
as  unworthy  of  contradiction.  It  is  before  our 
eyes,  and  whoever  compares  our  printing  with 
the  aforesaid  edition,  will  find  that  not  on)y  has 
it  been  adhered  to,  but  that  more  than  a  hun- 
dred printer's  errors  have  been  removed.  The 
latter  are  remembered,  not  to  censure  that  work, 
but  that,  should  any  one  find  that  mistakes  have 
again  crept  in  without  our  knowledge,  it  may 
be  forgiven  us  as  unto  other  men. 

Moreover,  no  explanations  have  been  made, 
a  procedure  in  which  we  are  as  much  at  liberty 
as  others ;  Firstly,  because  by  means  of  Scrip- 
ture parallelisms,  one  phrase  frequently  illumi- 
nates another  in  the  Spiritual  sense.  Secondly, 
because  it  is  certain  that  to  him  who  reads  the 
Scriptures  with  an  upright  heart,  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  heart  reveals  His  true  meaning 
by  the  reading  itself ;  and  according  as  every 


THE  SAUR  BIBLE.  39 

believer  himself  undergoes  such  an  experience 
in  himself,  individually,  so  one  believes  assuredly 
that  the  time  nears  when  the  whole  earth  shall 
be  full  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  (Isa.  ii.  9), 
and  there  shall  be  no  need  that  brother  teach 
brother  and  admonish  him  to  know  the  Lord 
(Jer.  xxxi.  34).  But  they  shall  all  be  taught  of 
God,  both  small  and  great,  when  He  shall  pour 
out  His  Spirit  on  all  flesh,  that  sons  and  daugh- 
ters prophesy,  young  men  see  visions,  and  the 
old  men  dream  dreams,  and  His  Spirit  shall 
flow  upon  His  servants  and  handmaids  (Joel 
ii.  28-32).  So  will  He  himself  make  clear  His 
meaning,  and  show  His  might,  yea,  verily,  be 
the  Word  itself.  Flee  hither,  who  can;  come 
soon,  Lord  Jesus." 

The  Saur  Bible  is  a  quarto,  bound  in  bevelled 
boards,  covered  with  strong  leather,  with  the 
covers  held  together  with  clasps.  It  is  printed 
in  double  columns,  with  parallel  references,  and 
there  are  short  summaries  at  the  head  of  each 
chapter.  There  is  an  ornamented  headpiece  at 
the  beginning  of  Genesis,  and  another  before 


40  EARLY  BIBLES. 

the  Gospel  of  St.  Matthew.  The  general  title- 
page  is  printed  in  black  and  red.  The  edition 
consisted  of  twelve  hundred  copies,  and  the 
price  was  eighteen  shillings ;  that  is,  about  two 
dollars  and  a  half. 

Mr.  Saur  did  not  forget  his  obligation  to  Mr. 
H.  E.  Luther,  for  he  had  twelve  copies  of  his 
Bible  substantially  bound,  and  sent  them-  on 
the  5th  of  December,  1743,  to  Germany,  by  the 
ship  "Queen  of  Hungary."  The  vessel,  when 
near  St.  Malmo,  was  attacked  by  French  and 
Spanish  pirates,  and  all  the  cargo  was  captured. 
At  the  expiration  of  two  years,  through  some 
unknown  events,  the  Bibles  reached  their  des- 
tination, and  came  into  the  possession  of  Mr. 
Luther.  There  are  persons  who  regard  this 
account  as  highly  romantic,  and  quite  improba- 
ble, but  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  its  truthful- 
ness. Mr.  Luther  gave  one  copy  to  the  Royal 
Library  at  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  where  it  is 
now  preserved.  From  the  presentation  inscrip- 
tion in  Latin  we  learn  that  the  Bible  was  given 
to  the  library  in  the  year  1745 ;  that  is,  two 


THE  SAUR  BIBLE.  41 

years  after  its  publication.  Here  we  have  in- 
direct testimony  that  it  was  two  years  in  reach- 
ing Germany.  But  the  truth  of  the  account  is 
placed  beyond  all  question  by  the  direct  confir- 
mation of  it  by  Mr.  Luther  in  his  own  hand- 
writing. He  presented  one  of  the  twelve  copies 
of  the  Saur  Bible  to  the  Duchess  Elizabeth 
Sophie  Marie  von  Braunschweig,  who  had  a  col- 
lection of  several  thousand  rare  editions  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures.  At  her  death  she  bequeathed 
the  collection  to  the  Ducal  Library  at  Wolfen- 
biittel,  Germany.  The  librarian  of  this  institu- 
tion, Dr.  O.  von  Heinemann,  in  a  letter  bearing 
date  February  8th,  1892,  speaks  of  the  presenta- 
tion volume  as  "well  preserved  and  well  bound." 
In  regard  to  the  story  of  the  Bibles  falling  into 
the  hands  of  pirates,  he  says,  — 

"All  this  is  stated  in  a  note,  written  in  Latin  and 
signed  by  Luther  with  his  own  hand,  attached  to  the  inside 
of  the  front  cover  of  our  copy;  as  well  as  in  a  German 
translation  of  the  same,  entirely  in  Luther's  handwriting, 
inserted  in  the  book." 

But  the  most  interesting  evidence  of  all  is  that 
written  in  the  copy  which  Mr.  Luther  retained 


42  EARLY  BIBLES. 

for  his  own  library.  This  book  is  now  in  the 
possession  of  Dr.  J.  Haeberlin,  of  Frankfort-on- 
the-Main,  who  is  Mr.  Luther's  great-great- 
grandson,  and  the  inheritor  of  his  possessions. 
In  a  letter  dated  March  6,  1892,  Dr.  Haeberlin 
has  given  some  very  important  information  con- 
cerning Luther's  copy  of  the  Saur  Bible.  He 
states  that  it  contains  the  following  dedication':  — 

THIS  HOLT  BOOK, 
BY  THE  AID  OF  GOD 

recently  published  in  the  German  language  in 

THE  WESTERN  WORLD, 

with  types  from  the  Luther  Printing  House,  which  has 

nourished  in  Frankfort  since  the  invention  of  printing, 

under  the  widely  known  name  of 

EGENOLF, 
and  still  continues  to  prosper, 

WAS  THE   VERY  FIRST 

preceded  by  none  in  the  English,  Dutch,  or  any  other  lan- 
guage, and  was  sent  with  eleven  other  copies  on  account  of 
its  being  a  novel  and  rare  production,  by  the  publisher, 
CHBISTOPHER  SAUB, 
to  Europe : 

But, 

"THE  QUEEN  of  HUNGARY'* 

—  so  the  ship  was  called,  —  under  the  command  of  the 
Englishman  Faulkner,  after  having  successfully  completed 
the  greater  portion  of  the  journey,  not  far  from  the  head- 
land of  the  Isle  Maclovius,  known  under  the  name  of 
ST.  MALMO, 


THE  SAUR  BIBLE.  43 

fell  into  the  hands  of 

FRENCH  AND  SPANISH  PIRATES, 

who  offered  the  ship  with  its  cargo  of  wares  and  these 

12  copies, 
the  Apostles  of  the  Western  World,  as  it  were, 

at  public  sale, 

until  they  all  finally,  through  a  wonderful  dispensation  of 
Providence,  after  a  lapse  of  two  years,  were  released  from 
the  hands  of  robbers,  and  delivered  uninjured  to  the  Luther 
Printing  House,  to  whom  they  owed  their  existence.  De- 
part, then,  my  Book,  and  become  in  consideration  of  thy 
marvellous  fortunes,  under  the  name  of 

"  APOSTLE," 

together  with  thy  similarly  delivered  companion  volumes,  a 
permanent  ornament  of  the  most  noted  libraries,  in  fulfil- 
ment of  the  well  considered  wish  and  will  of  the  donor, 
whose  written,  not  printed  name  follows. 

LUTHER,  DR. 
FBANKFORT-ON-THE-MAIN,  January  1,  1747. 


It  is  evident  that  Mr.  Luther  was  not  aware 
of  the  fact  that  the  Eliot  Bible  had  been  printed 
in  America  nearly  a  hundred  years  before,  or  he 
would  not  have  said  that  the  Saur  Bible,  "  was 
the  very  first,  preceded  by  none  in  the  English, 
Dutch,  or  any  other  language." 

Mr.  Luther  presented  a  third  copy  of  the 
original  twelve  Bibles  to  Count  Keyserlingk. 
This  volume  is  now  in  the  Royal  Library  at 


44  EARLY  BIBLES. 

Stuttgart.     Dr.  T.    Schott,  the  librarian,  in  a 
letter  of  February  8th,  1892,  writes :  - 

"  The  copy  is  evidently  in  its  original  binding  of  English 
leather.  The  sections  of  the  back  are  ornamented  with 
small  gold  toolings,  and  the  front  and  back  covers  have 
prettily  shaped  designs  in  the  leather.  There  is  a  middle 
field,  or  centre-piece.  On  the  inside  of  the  front  cover  is  a 
printed  dedication  from  E.  H.  Luther  to  Count  Hermann 
Karl  Keyserlingk,  Counsellor  of  the  Empress  Elizabeth  of 
Russia.  According  to  the  Latin  inscription,  the  'Count 
lived  for  several  years  in  Luthers  hous'e.  The  same  is 
dated  Frankfort,  Dec.,  1745. 

"  Over  the  dedication  is  a  coat-of-anns,  most  likely  that  of 
Luther.  It  consists  of  a  shield  parted  diagonally  from 
upper  right-hand  corner  to  lower  left,  on  which  is  a  gallop- 
ing winged  horse.  In  the  upper  left-hand  corner  is  a  small 
division  representing  three  mountain  tops,  on  the  middle 
one  of  which  is  a  cross.  The  crest  is  also  decorated  with 
these  three  mountain  tops  and  cross. 

"  The  last  owner  before  the  copy  came  into  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Royal  Library  of  Stuttgart  was  the  well-known 
collector  of  Bibles,  Pastor  J.  Lorck  of  Copenhagen.  The 
copy  is  in  every  respect  splendidly  preserved." 

A  fourth  presentation  copy  is  now  preserved 
in  the  Prince  Stolberg  Library  at  Wernigerode. 
A  fifth  copy  was  given  by  Mr.  Luther  to  Dr. 
Ruppersburg  of  Marburg.  Members  of  his 
family  came  to  this  country  in  1843  and 
brought  the  Bible  with  them,  but  just  where 
it  is  in  the  United  States  is  not  known. 


THE  SAUR  BIBLE.  45 

A  sixth  copy  was  given  to  the  Landes  Biblio- 
thek  at  Cassel,  and  the  seventh  to  the  Ducal 
Library  at  Gotha,  where  they  are  preserved. 

An  eighth  copy  was  presented  by  Mr.  Luther 
to  Count  Heinrich  de  Bunan,  and  this  is  now 
in  the  possession  of  the  Royal  Library  at 
Dresden,  Germany. 

It  contains  a  presentation  inscription  in  these 
words :  — 

THIS  HOLY  BOOK 

NEVER  BEFORE  PRINTED  IN  THE   WESTERN   WORLD 

in  either  English,  Dutch,  or  any  other  language,  but  now 
under  Divine  protection,  for  the  first  time  in  German,  and 
by  types  from  his  own  foundry,  is  presented  with  the  hope 
that  it  will  give  pleasure  as  a  rarity,  and  on  account  of  its 
coming  from  a  remote  land,  to  the  Library  of 

THE  ILLUSTRIOUS  HEINRICH  DE  BUNAN, 

COUNT   OP 
THE  HOLY  ROMAN  EMPIRE, 

PRIVY  COUNCILLOR 
OF  HIS    CHRISTIAN  MAJESTY, 

and  of 

THE  IMPERIAL  COURT, 

and 

AMBASSADOR  OF  THE   SAME  TO  THE 

ORDERS  OF  THE  CIRCLE  OF  THE  RHINE 

AND   LOWER  SAXONY, 

By 

HEINRICH  EHRENFRIED  LUTHER,  J.N.D.  &  C.W.A. 
FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAIN;  July,  1747. 


46  EARLY  BIBLES. 

Dr.  Haeberlin  states  that  in  Luther's  copy, 
which  he  retained  for  himself,  there  is  a 
memorandum  in  his  own  hand-writing  of  the 
disposition  he  made  of  the  remaining  eleven 
copies.  The  list  is  as  follows :  "  St.  Petersburg, 
Stockholm,  Copenhagen,  Berlin,  Hanover,  Dres- 
den, Gotha,  Weimar,  Braunschweig,  Cassel, 
and  Stuttgart."  It  will  be  observed  tnat  no 
mention  is  made  in  this  list  of  the  copy 
presented  to  the  Royal  Library  at  Frankfort- 
on-the-Main,  or  of  the  copy  given  to  Dr. 
Ruppersburg.  Whether  these  were  additional 
copies  received  from  Mr.  Saur,  or  whether  they 
belonged  to  the  original  twelve,  and  had 
changed  hands,  is  not  at  present  known.  Of 
the  Bibles  that  were  sent  to  individuals  or 
public  libraries  at  St.  Petersburg,  Stockholm, 
Copenhagen,  Berlin,  Hanover,  and  Weimar, 
no  information  has  been  received,  though  it 
has  been  solicited.  It  will  be  seen  that  we 
have  located  nine  of  the  presentation  copies, 
and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  in  time  the  remain- 
ing three  may  be  traced. 


THE  SAUR  BIBLE.  47 

The  encouragement  and  support  that  Mr. 
Luther  gave  Saur,  in  publishing  the  Bible 
in  this  country,  not  only  called  out  the  grati- 
tude of  the  German  residents,  but  of  all  who 
were  interested  in  the  advancement  of  morals 
and  religion.  Dr.  Haeberlin  says,  "  In  later 
years,  when  Franklin  visited  Europe,  he  per- 
sonally thanked  Luther."  He  also  writes,  "  Mr. 
Luther  was  given  a  large  land  grant,  which  he, 
however,  never  claimed,  as  he  scorned  to  receive 
any  material  compensation.  I  do  not  know 
what  became  of  the  deed  of  the  property." 

Notwithstanding  the  energy  and  enterprise  of 
Mr.  Saur  in  giving  his  countrymen  the  Bible  in 
their  own  language,  he  did  not  receive  the  sup- 
port and  gratitude  he  deserved.  He  was 
accused  of  selfish  and  mercenary  motives. 
Those  who  differed  from  him  in  his  religious 
opinions  denounced  his  Bible  even  before  it 
appeared.  Booksellers  tried  to  undersell  him 
by  offering  imported  Bibles  at  low  rates. 
Another  class  raised  opposition  by  declar- 
ing that  his  Bible  was  not  a  genuine  ren- 


48  EARLY  BIBLES. 

dering  of  the  Lutheran  translation.  Relative 
to  this  last  charge  he  wrote,  "All  that  our 
adversaries  can  possibly  say  against  us  is  con- 
cerning our  appendix  of  the  3rd  and  4th  Books 
of  Esdras,  and  the  3rd  Book  of  the  Maccabees* 
which  is  not  Luther's.  The  Halle  edition  of 
1708  contained  it,  but  our  34th  edition  did  nott 
or  we  should  have  followed  it.  Hence,  there- 
fore, we  added  it  from  the  Berlinberger  edition, 
which  we  think  every  child  that  has  the  least 
spark  of  godliness  in  him  must  love  and  revere. 
But  whoever  does  not  like  it  can  inform  us, 
and  we  will  omit  it  in  the  binding.  So,  also, 
our  addenda  of  the  various  translations." 

Mr.  Saur  made  every  effort  to  promote  the 
reading  of  the  Scriptures  by  bringing  his  Bible 
within  the  reach  of  all  who  desired  it.  Just 
before  it  was  completed  he  wrote,  — 

"  The  price  of  our  now  nearly  finished  Bible 
in  plain  binding  with  a  clasp  will  be  eighteen 
shillings,  but  to  the  poor  and  needy  we  have 
no  price." 

Mr.  Saur  was  a  many-sided  man,  and   had 


THE  SAUR  BIBLE.  49 

much  ingenuity  and  versatility.  He  erected  a 
mill  for  manufacturing  his  own  paper  and  ink. 
He  also  did  his  own  binding,  and  contrived  to 
cast  the  type  he  needed.  The  remarkable 
statement  has  been  made  of  him  that  he  was 
familiar  with  sixteen  trades.  The  business, 
now  so  extensive,  of  making  cast-iron  stoves  is 
said  to  have  originated  with  him.  The  profes- 
sion of  medicine  he  never  abandoned. 

Mr.  Saur  died  in  1758,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
five,  and  was  buried  in  the  rear  of  his  dwelling 
at  Germantown. 

He  was  succeeded  in  business  by  his  only 
son  of  the  same  name.  He,  like  his  father,  was 
a  man  of  pronounced  executive  ability.  He 
enlarged  the  business  and  continued  the  publi- 
cation of  the  newspaper  and  almanac.  In  addi- 
tion he  printed  and  bound  over  two  hundred 
books.  Several  mills  were  engaged  in  manu- 
facturing his  paper,  and  he  had  workmen  to 
engrave  his  woodcuts.  He  built  a  type  foun- 
dry, which  was  the  first  of  its  kind  in  this  coun- 
try. This  gave  him  all  the  type  he  needed,  and 


50  EARLY  BIBLES. 

enabled  him  to  supply  other  printers.  This 
foundry  expanded  as  the  years  went  on,  and  is 
now  represented  by  the  firm  of  L.  Johnson  & 
Co.  of  Philadelphia,  who  are  at  the  head  of 
the  largest  type  establishment  in  the  United 
States. 

In  1763  Christopher  Saur  printed  the  second 
edition  of  the  German  Bible.  It  is  a  quarto, 
and  resembles  the  first  edition  in  its  general 
appearance,  but  differs  from  it  in  some  respects. 
Both  the  title-pages  are  printed  in  black,  and 
the  type  throughout  the  book  is  set  closer.  A 
portion  of  the  last  chapter  of  the  Fourth  Book 
of  Ezra,  and  the  whole  of  the  Third  Book  of 
Maccabees,  are  printed  in  smaller  type  than  the 
other  parts  of  the  book.  The  letters  of  the  gen- 
eral title  also  differ  in  size  from  those  of  the 
first  edition.  The  preface  is  a  new  one,  and  is 
entirely  unlike  that  of  the  Bible  of  1743.  The 
opening  sentence  reads  :  — 

"  Herewith  appear,  in  this  American  part  of  the  world, 
the  Holy  Scriptures  — called  the  Bible  —  publicly  printed 
for  the  second  time  in  the  High  German  language,  to  the 
honor  of  the  German  nation, — inasmuch  as  no  other 


THE  SAUR  BIBLE.  51 

nation  can  claim  to  have  printed  the  Bible,  in  this  part  of 
the  world,  in  its  own  language." 

This  second  issue  of  the  Bible  consisted  of 
an  edition  of  two  thousand  copies. 

Thirteen  years  later  Mr.  Saur  was  prepared 
to  send  out  the  third  edition  of  the  German 
Bible,  —  that  of  1776,  —  which  was  also  the  last. 
The  printing  of  the  three  thousand  copies  — 
the  extent  of  the  edition  —  had  been  completed, 
and  the  leaves  had  been  stitched  together  and 
awaited  the  finishing  touches  of  the  binder  in 
applying  the  covers ;  but  the  war  between  the 
colonies  and  Great  Britain  interrupted  the 
work. 

At  the  invasion  of  Germantown  Mr.  Saur 
fled  from  the  place,  and  the  British  troops 
destroyed  nearly  all  the  copies  of  the  Bible,  bj 
converting  the  leaves  into  litter  for  their  horses, 
and  by  using  the  paper  for  their  cartridges. 
Catharine  Saur,  the  daughter  of  the  pub- 
lisher, secured  ten  copies,  and  after  they  were 
bound  presented  them  to  her  children. 

The  preface  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  edition 


52  EARLY  BIBLES. 

of  1763.  It  is  signed,  but  not  dated.  The  second 
edition  is  dated  "  Germantown,  December  8th, 
1763."  The  title-pages  are  the  same,  and  a 
similar  reduction  of  the  type  in  the  middle  of 
the  book.  Substantially,  the  editions  of  1763 
and  1776  are  one  and  the  same. 

Saur  died  in  1784,  leaving  five  sons  and  three 
daughters.  His  business,  though  sadly,  dis- 
turbed by  the  war,  descended  to  his  son,  Chris- 
topher Saur  the  third.  Generations  of  printers 
sprang  from  this  stock,  and  the  publishing 
house  in  Philadelphia  still  bearing  the  name  of 
Saur  can  point  back  to  an  honorable  record 
extending  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  years. 
There  were  but  three  issues  of  the  Saur  Bibles, 
but  a  number  of  editions  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment in  German.  These  publications  bear  the 
dates  of  1745,  1755,  1760,  1761,  1763,  1764, 
1769,  and  1775.  The  editions  of  1761  and  1764 
are  extremely  rare.  O'Callaghan  does  not  men- 
tion them,  and  evidently  was  not  aware  of  their 
existence..  The  first  edition  of  the  Saur  Bible 
— that  of  1743 — is  a  scarce  book,  and  commands 


THE  SAUR  BIBLE.  53 

a  high  price.  A  copy  offered  at  the  Brinley  sale 
a  few  years  ago  brought  $350.  The  editions  of 
1763  and  1776  are  not  considered  as  valuable. 
Nearly  all  the  copies  of  the  Saur  Bible  are 
owned  in  the  United  States  and  Germany.1  No 
library  making  a  specialty  of  Americana  can  be 
considered  complete  without  possessing  this 
Bible,  the  first  printed  in  this  country  in  a  Eu- 
ropean language. 

The  New  Testament  in  German  was  pub- 
lished in  several  places  in  the  United  States 
after  the  Saur  Bible  of  1776,  but  no  issue  of 
the  entire  Bible  in  German  was  undertaken  for 
thirty  years.  Then,  in  1805,  Gottlob  Yung- 
mann  published  at  Reading,  Pa.,  a  German 
Bible  in  quarto.  In  typography  and  general 
appearance  it  resembles  the  Saur  Bible,  and 
may  be  considered  a  continuation  of  it,  and  evi- 
dently the  publisher  so  intended  it  to  be.  In 
the  preface  he  says,  — 

"In  this  part  of  the  world,  which  is  called  the  American 
United  States,  there  appear  once  more,  after  a  lapse  of 
thirty  years,  the  Holy  Scriptures  (which  are  also  called  the 
i  Appendix  F. 


54  EARLY  BIBLES. 

Bible),  publicly  printed  in  the  High  German  language,  to 
the  honor  of  the  descendants  of  the  old  German  nation. 
Whether  a  Bible  in  the  language  mentioned  will  again 
make  its  appearance  in  these  United  States,  is  open  to 
much  and  great  doubt,  more  especially  as  the  German  lan- 
guage is  declining  in  them  with  such  extraordinary  rapid- 
ity, and  is  suffering  English,  as  the  established  and  gener- 
ally used,  and,  indeed,  preferable  language,  to  make  aston- 
ishing progress.  Whether  this  is  to  be  ascribed  more  to 
the  industrious  reading  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  by  the 
English  descendants  in  this  part  of  the  world,  or  to  some- 
thing else,  whatever  it  may  be,  I  will  not  here  inquire,  but 
recommend  it  to  every  individual  German  descendant  him- 
self, for  investigation  and  alteration." 

After  speaking  of  the  value  of  the  Word  of 
God  to  "apostate  human  creatures,"  he  refers 
to  Christopher  Saur,  and  ends  by  quoting 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  preface  of  the  Saur 
Bible  of  1776.  This  publication  by  Yungmann 
never  reached  a  second  edition. 


THE  AITKEN   BIBLE. 


MR.  ISAIAH  THOMAS,  in  his  "History  of 
Printing  in  America,"  when  referring  to  the 
booksellers  of  Boston,  says,  1 "  Kneeland  and 
Green  printed,  principally  for  Daniel  Hench- 
man, an  edition  of  the  Bible  in  small  4to.  This 
was  the  first  Bible  printed  in  America,  in  the 
English  language.  It  was  carried  through  the 
press  as  privately  as  possible,  and  has  the  Lon- 
don imprint  of  the  copy  from  which  it  was  re- 
printed,—  viz., 4  London :  Printed  by  Mark  Bas- 
kett,  Printer  to  the  King's  Most  Excellent  Ma- 
jesty,' —  in  order  to  prevent  a  prosecution  from 
those  in  England  and  Scotland,  who  published 
the  Bible  by  a  patent  from  the  crown,  or  cum 
privilegio,  as  did  the  English  universities  of  Ox- 
ford and  Cambridge.  When  I  was  an  ap- 

1  Thomas's  History  of  Printing,  vol.  i.,  pp.  107,  108. 


56  EARLY  BIBLES. 

prentice,  I  often  heard  those  who  had  assisted  at 
the  case  and  press  in  printing  this  Bible  make 
mention  of  the  fact.  The  late  Governor  Han- 
cock was  related  to  Henchman,  and  knew  the 
particulars  of  the  transaction.  He  possessed  a 
copy  of  this  impression.  As  it  has  a  London 
imprint,  at  this  day  it  can  be  distinguished  from 
an  English  edition  of  the  same  date  only  by 
those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  niceties  of 
typography.  This  Bible  issued  from  the  press 
about  the  time  that  the  partnership  of  Kneeland 
and  Green  expired.  The  edition  was  not  large ; 
I  have  been  informed  that  it  did  not  exceed 
seven  or  eight  hundred  copies." 

The  correctness  of  this  statement  has  been 
assailed  by  Mr.  Bancroft,  who,  in  his  "  History 
of  the  United  States,"  l  says  that  Thomas  "  re- 
peats only  what  he  heard.  Himself  a  collector, 
he  does  not  profess  ever  to  have  seen  a  copy  of 
the  alleged  American  edition  of  the  English 
Bible.  Search  has  repeatedly  been  made  for  a 
copy  and  always  without  success.  Six  or  eight 

1  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  v.,  p.  266. 


T    H    E 

HOLY    BIBLE, 

Contours  the  OLD  and  NEWT  * 

TESTAMENT  S: 

Newly  tranflatcd  out  of  the 

ORIGINAL  TONGUES; 

And  with  the  former 

T  R  A  N  S  L  AT  I  ON  S 

.,     DiligfjitJy  compared  and  rcvifed. 


P  H  /  L  A  D  E  L  P  H  T  A  : 
t    PRINTED 'AND  Sot»  BT  R.  AITKEK^AT  POPK'S 
HEAD,  THREK  DUOR^  ABOVE  THE  C 

Hour.K,  IN  MAK&f-.r  ST^ 
4  M.  j>c  c.  J.  x  x  x  J  i« 


! 


Fac-simile  of  the  title  page  of  the  Aitken  Bible,  1782.    Exact  size. 


THE  AITKEN  BIBLE.  57 

hundred  Bibles  in  quarto  could  hardly  have 
been  printed,  bound,  and  sold  in  Boston,  then  a 
small  town,  undiscovered.  Nor  would  they  all 
have  disappeared.  The  most  complete  cata- 
logues of  English  Bibles  enumerate  no  one  with 
the  imprint  which  was  said  to  have  been  copied. 
Till  a  copy  of  the  pretended  American  edition 
is  produced  no  credit  can  be  given  to  the  sec- 
ond-hand story." 

As  no  copy  of  this  supposed  Bible  has  ever 
been  identified,  Mr.  O'Callaghan  omits  it  from 
his  "  List  of  Bibles  printed  in  America."  Any 
testimony  in  the  handwriting  of  Mr.  Aitken 
that  his  Bible  published  in  1782  was  the  first 
Bible  printed  in  America  in  the  English  lan- 
guage would  be  of  great  value,  for  he  could  not 
make  this  claim,  if  in  his  day  some  other  edition 
had  already  claimed  it.  Fortunately,  we  have 
this  testimony  in  Mr.  Aitken's  own  Words,  writ- 
ten with  his  own  hand.  In  the  British  Museum 
there  is  to  be  seen  a  copy  of  the  Aitken  Bible 
in  two  volumes.  The  following  note  is  on  the 
back  of  the  title-page  of  the  first  volume,  in  the 


58  EARLY  BIBLES. 

writing  of  Mr.  Aitken  :  "  This  first  copy  of  the 
first  edition  of  the  Bible  ever  printed  in  Amer- 
ica in  the  English  language,  is  presented  to 
Ebenezar  Hazard,  Esq.,  by  the  Editor."  In- 
serted at  the  beginning  of  the  second  volume  is 
a  letter  as  follows  :  — 

PHILADELPHIA,  July  6,  1844. 

DEAR  SIR,  — I  send  you  herewith  the  copy  of  the  Bible 
published  in  this  city  in  1782  by  Kobert  Aitken,  which  you 
may  be  assured  I  part  with,  with  great  regret,  as  well  be- 
cause it  was  presented  by  the  publisher  to  my  father,  as 
because  it  is,  according  to  the  certificate  on  the  fly-leaf  in 
Mr.  Aitken' s  own  handwriting,  "the  first  copy  of  the  first 
edition  ever  printed  in  America  in  the  English  language," 
the  first  sheets  having  been  carefully  laid  aside  for  my  father 
—  who  was  very  intimate  with  the  publisher — until  the 
whole  work  was  completed. 

Yours  truly, 

SAM  HAZARD. 
CHAS.  MARSHALL,  Esq. 

This  Bible  was  formerly  in  the  collection  of 
Mr.  Lea  Wilson,  and  was  bought  by  the  British 
Museum  in  1849.  The  books  are  in  the  original 
binding  of  olive-green  leather.  The  two  volumes 
are  divided  at  the  end  of  Ecclesiastes,  a  division 
peculiar  to  this  set,  as  in  other  copies  the  sec- 


THE  AITKEN  BIBLE.  59 

ond  volume  begins  with  the  Gospel  of  St. 
Matthew.  In  some  cases  the  volumes  were 
bound  in  one. 

Robert  Aitken  was  a  native  of  Dalkeith, 
Scotland,  and  emigrated  to  America  in  1769, 
and  settled  at  Philadelphia  as  a  bookseller.  In 
1771  he  added  bookbinding  to  his  business,  hav- 
ing learned  that  art  in  Edinburgh.  Later,  in 
1774,  he  became  a  publisher. .  The  war  of  the 
colonies  with  Great  Britain  interrupted  com- 
merce, and  books  were  difficult  to  procure,  and 
especially  Bibles.  The  urgency  in  this  direc- 
tion was  so  great  that  a  memorial  was  presented 
to  Congress  suggesting  and  urging  the  printing 
of  Bibles  in  America.  The  committee  to  whom 
the  memorial  was  referred  reported  in  the 
autumn  of  1777  that  the  difficulty  of  procuring 
type  and  paper  was  so  great  that  they  recom- 
mended Congress  to  advance  the  money  for  pub- 
lishing an  edition  of  the  Bible,  or,  if  this  was  not 
expedient,  to  order  the  importation  of  a  number 
sufficient  to  meet  the  demand.  Congress  re- 
solved upon  the  latter  course,  and  directed  the 


60  EARLY  BIBLES. 

committee  to  import  twenty  thousand  copies  of 
the  Bible.  During  the  agitation  of  this  subject 
Mr.  Aitken  was  encouraged  to  issue  an  edition 
of  the  New  Testament,  which  appeared  from  his 
press  in  Philadelphia  in  1777.  A  copy  pre- 
served in  the  Lenox  Library,  New  York,  enables 
us  to  see  how  humble  this  effort  was,  for  the 
book  is  but  a  small  duodecimo.  The  title-page 
is  as  follows  :  — 

THE  NEW 
TESTAMENT 

OP  OUB  LORD  AND  SAVIOUB  JESUS  CHBISTJ 

Newly  Translated  out  of  the  Original  Greek  ; 
And  with  the  former  Translations 

DILIGENTLY  COMPABED  AND  BEVISED. 

Appointed  to  be  read  in  Churches. 
PHILADELPHIA  : 

PBINTED  AND  SOLD  BY 
B.  AITKEN, 

Printer  and  Bookseller, 
Front  Street. 

1777. 

Spectamur  agendo. 


THE  AITKEN  BIBLE.  61 

These  last  words  form  a  motto  and  are  placed 
in  a  scroll.  The  letters  of  the  imprint  are  sup- 
ported by  two  children,  and  the  crest  is  a  bird 
with  an  olive-branch  in  its  mouth.  On  the  back 
of  the  title-page  are  the  words,  "  The  Order  of 
the  Books  of  the  New  Testament  with  their 
Names,  and  the  Numbers  of  their  Chapters." 
The  printed  matter  of  the  text  runs  from  page  3 
to  page  353,  and  there  are  no  headings.  On  the 
verso  of  page  353  are  these  words :  "  Books 
Printed  and  Sold  at  R.  Aitken's  Printing  Office 
opposite  the  London  Coffee-House  Front- 
Street." 

Second  and  third  editions  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment appeared  in  1778  and  1779,  and  fourth  and 
fifth  in  1780  and  1781.  Encouraged  by  the  re- 
ception which  had  been  given  the  publication  of 
the  New  Testament,  Mr.  Aitken  announced  his 
purpose  of  printing  an  edition  of  the  entire 
Bible,  and  in  1781  presented  a  petition  to  Con- 
gress, seeking  support  and  sanction.  His  peti- 
tion was  referred  to  a  committee  consisting 
of  Messrs.  Duane,  McKean,  and  Witherspoon. 


62  EARLY  BIBLES. 

They  reported  in  1782  that  they  had  watched 
with  interest  the  work  of  Mr.  Aitken,  and 
recommended,  in  order  that  a  safe  opinion  might 
be  obtained  of  the  correctness  with  which  his 
Bible  had  been  prepared  for  publication,  that  it 
should  be  submitted  to  the  two  chaplains  of 
Congress  for  their  examination.  The  chaplains 
were  the  Rev.  William  White,  D.D.,  afterward 
the  Bishop  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Rev.  George 
Duffield,  D.D.  September  10,  1782,  they  re- 
ported to  the  committee  as  follows:  — 

"  Agreeably  to  your  desire  we  have  paid  at- 
tention to  Mr.  Robert  Aitken's  impression  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ment. Having  selected  and  examined  a  variety 
of  passages  throughout  the  work,  we  are  of  the 
opinion  that  it  is  executed  with  great  accuracy 
as  to  the  sense,  and  with  as  few  grammatical  and 
typographical  errors  as  could  be  expected  in  an 
undertaking  of  such  magnitude.  Being  our- 
selves witnesses  of  the  demand  for  this  invalu- 
able book,  we  rejoice  in  the  present  prospect  of 
a  supply,  hoping  that  it  will  prove  as  advan- 


THE  AITKEN  BIBLE.  63 

tageous  as  it  is  honorable  to  the  gentleman  who 
has  exerted  himself  to  furnish  it  at  the  evident 
risk  of  his  private  fortune." 

In  agreement  with  this  recommendation  Con- 
gress in  1782  "Resolved,  that  the  United  States, 
in  Congress  assembled,  highly  approve  the 
pious  and  laudable  undertaking  of  Mr.  Aitken 
as  subservient  to  the  interests  of  religion  as 
well  as  an  instance  of  the  progress  of  arts  in 
this  country;  and  being  satisfied  from  the  above 
report  of  his  care  and  accuracy  in  the  execution 
of  the  work,  they  recommend  this  edition  of  the 
Bible  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States, 
and  hereby  authorize  him  to  publish  this  recom- 
mendation in  the  manner  he  shall  think 
proper." 

Mr.  Aitken's  Bible  was  issued  from  his  press 
in  Philadelphia  in  1782.  It  was  usually  bound 
in  two  volumes,  though  in  some  cases  copies 
have  been  found  that  are  bound  in  one  volume. 
It  is  in  size  a  small  duodecimo,  printed  in  brevier 
type.  The  whole  page  measures  6  inches  long 
by  3|  inches  wide.  The  printed  paper  is  5| 


64  EARLY  BIBLES. 

inches  long  and  3|  inches  wide.     The  title-page 
reads  — 

THE 

HOLY  BIBLE, 

CONTAINING  THE  OLD  AND  NEW 

TESTAMENTS: 

NEWLY  TRANSLATED  OUT  OF  THE 

ORIGINAL  TONGUES, 

AND   WITH  THE   FOKMEB 

TRANSLATIONS 

DILIGENTLY   COMPARED  AND  REVISED. 

PHILADELPHIA: 

PRINTED  AND   SOLD  BY  R.   AITKEN,    AT  POPE'S 

Head,  Three  doors  above  the  Coffee  House,  in  Market  Street. 
MDCCLXXXII. 

The  title-page  also  contains  the  State  arms  of 
Pennsylvania,  which  consist  of  an  escutcheon 
with  representations  of  ship,  plough,  and 
sheaves  of  wheat.  The  crest  is  an  eagle,  and 
the  supporters,  rampant  horses.  The  motto  is 
"  Virtue,  Liberty,  and  Independence."  The  back 
of  the  title-page  is  blank.  Then  follow  the 
44  Resolutions  of  Congress,"  occupying  one  and 


THE  AITKEN  BIBLE.  65 

a  half  pages.  The  next  half-page  contains 
"  Names  and  Order  of  all  the  Books  of  the  O.  & 
N.  Test."  The  Bible  throughout  has  no  paging. 
The  New  Testament  title-page  is  the  same  as 
that  of  the  edition  of  the  previous  year,  1781. 
It  reads  as  follows  :  — 

THE  NEW 

TESTAMENT 

OF  OUK  LORD  AND  SAVIOUR 
JESUS  CHRIST; 

NEWLY  TRANSLATED  OUT  OF  THE 

ORIGINAL  GREEK; 

AND  WITH  THE  FORMER 

TRANSLATIONS 

Diligently  compared  and  revised. 

PHILADELPHIA  : 

PRINTED  AND   SOLD  BY  R.    AITKEN,  BOOKSELLER 

Opposite  the  Coffee  House,  Front  Street. 
MDCCLXXXI. 

The  title-page  also  contains  a  wood-cut  of  a 
hat  and  flute.  On  the  back  of  the  same  page 
is  this  line :  — 

NAMES  AND  ORDER  OF  THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  N.T. 


6G  EARLY  BIBLES. 

Below,  in  large  letters,  are  found  the  initials 
"R.  A." 

The  publication  of  this  Bible  was  not  a  finan- 
cial success.  It  had  to  compete  with  imported 
Bibles  that  could  be  sold  cheaper,  because  the 
cost  of  printing  was  less.  Moreover,  the  book 
was  a  small  one  and  did  not  compare  with  larger 
Bibles  as  a  specimen  of  the  printer's  art/  Mr. 
Aitken  seems  to  have  been  seriously  embar- 
rassed by  his  undertaking,  and  had  the  sympa- 
thy of  good  people,  who  regretted  the  loss  to 
which  he  was  subjected.  At  a  Synod  of  Pres- 
byterians, held  in  Philadelphia  on  the  24th  of 
May,  1783,  it  was  "  Resolved,  As  Mr.  Aitken, 
from  laudable  motives,  and  with  great  expense, 
hath  undertaken  and  executed  an  elegant 
impression  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which,  on 
account  of  the  importation  of  Bibles  from  Eng- 
land, will  be  very  injurious  to  his  temporal  cir- 
cumstances, the  Synod  agree  that  the  committee 
to  purchase  Bibles  for  distribution  among  the 
poor  purchase  Aitken's  Bible  and  no  other,  and 
earnestly  recommend  it  to  all  to  purchase  such 


THE  AITKEN  BIBLE.  67 

in  preference  to  any  other."  The  Aitken  Bible 
is  now  the  rarest  of  all  early  Bibles  printed  in 
America.  It  can  be  safely  said  that  at  the  out- 
side there  are  not  more  than  twenty-five  copies 
in  existence,  and  the  number  actually  located 
falls  below  this  statement.  The  list  of  owners 
is  a  very  short  one.1  It  is  only  about  once  in  a 
generation  that  a  copy  is  offered  for  sale,  and 
consequently  it  commands  a  high  price.  A  few 
years  ago,  at  the  Washington  sale,  held  in  Phil- 
adelphia, the  two  volumes  of  this  Bible  brought 
$650. 

The  Aitken  Bible  should  animate  the  inter- 
est of  Americans,  inasmuch  as  it  was  the  first 
Bible  printed  in  the  English  language  in  Amer- 
ica, and  also  because  of  the  association  of  Con- 
gress with  it.  It  is  a  part  of  our  national  his- 
tory, for  which  we  should  be  grateful,  because 
it  sets  forth  the  fact  that  the  founders  of  this 
Republic  were  men  who  were  not  ashamed  of 
the  revealed  Truth.  The  term  "Bible  Con- 
gress," applied  to  our  law-makers  in  that  day, 
whether  intended  in  derision  or  otherwise,  was 

1  Appendix  G. 


68  EARLY  BIBLES. 

an  epithet  of  honor.  Whatever  in  power, 
progress,  and  grandeur  we  have  attained  as  a 
nation,  we  owe  largely  to  the  respect  and  rever- 
ence which  our  fathers  paid  to  the  precious 
Word  of  God. 


THE  FIRST   DOUAY  VERSION. 


THE  first  quarto  edition  of  the  Bible  in  Eng- 
lish printed  in  America  was  published  in  Phil- 
adelphia in  1790.  It  was  the  Douay  version 
made  from  the  Latin  Vulgate.  Proposals  for 
printing  this  Bible  by  subscription  were  sent 
out  in  1789  by  Matthew  Carey,  a  native  of  Ire- 
land, located  at  Philadelphia  as  printer.  It  was 
proposed  to  issue  the  book  in  forty-eight  num- 
bers, delivered  weekly  at  a  cost  of  "  six  Spanish 
milled  dollars  "  for  the  entire  volume  of  984 
pages.  Only  about  three  of  the  numbers  were 
delivered,  when  certain  changes  were  made. 
The  plan  of  issuing  the  Bible  in  numbers  was 
given  up,  and  it  was  announced  that  it  would  be 
published  in  two  volumes.  The  firm  was  also 
changed  to  Carey,  Stewart  &  Co.  As  an  induce- 


70  EARLY  BIBLES. 

ment,  it  was  stated  that,  if  the  number  of  sub- 
scribers could  be  enlarged,  the  price  would  be 
reduced.  At  the  head  of  the  subscribers  stood 
the  name  of  Rt.  Rev.  John  Carroll  of  Balti- 
more. The  new  firm  made  an  appeal  not  only 
to  the  Roman  Catholics  of  the  United  States, 
but  to  other  bodies  of  Christians.  The  latter 
appeal  is  here  quoted  in  full.  It  is  addressed 
"  To  the  Protestants  in  the  United  States." 


"  We  venture  with  some  degree  of  confidence  to  solicit 
your  patronage  as  well  as  that  of  the  Roman  Catholics  for 
the  first  edition  of  the  Douay  translation  of  the  Vulgate 
Bible. 

Many  of  the  most  learned  Protestant  divines  have  pro- 
duced weighty  objections  to  particular  passages  in  the  Com- 
mon Church  of  England  translations  of  the  Scriptures.  That 
there  are  various  important  errors  in  it,  is  too  well  known 
to  admit  of  controversy.  The  frequent  demands  for  a  new 
translation  bear  the  strongest  testimony  to  the  truth  of  this 
observation  ;  it  is  therefore  worthy  the  attention  of  every 
candid  Protestant  to  consider  whether  a  comparison  of  the 
present  translation  with  his  own  would  not  enable  him  to 
detect  most,  if  not  all  of  them  —  and  thus  to  remove  from 
his  mind  those  doubts  and  difficulties  which  are  fatal  to  true 
religion. 

Liberal  minded  Protestants  who  glory  in  the  influence  of 
the  benign  sun  of  toleration  will  probably  be  happy  in  an 
opportunity  of  uniting  their  names  with  those  of  the  Roman 


THE  FIRST  DOUAY  VERSION.  71 

Catholics  who  have  supported  this  work  —  and  thus  evin- 
cing that  they  are  superior  to  that  wretched,  that  contempti- 
ble prejudice  which  confines  its  benevolence  within  the  nar- 
row pale  of  one  religious  denomination,  as  is  the  case  with 
bigots  of  every  persuasion.  From  persons  of  the  latter  class 
we  expect  no  patronage.  To  encourage  a  Popish  Bible 
would  in  their  eyes  be  an  heinous  offence.  But  we  fondly 
hope,  that  there  are  few  of  this  description  here  —  that 
persons  of  the  former  character  abound  —  and  that  our  sub- 
scription list,  by  uniting  together  the  names  of  members  of 
various  and  hitherto  hostile  denominations  of  Christians, 
will  afford  one  proof  —  among  many  that  might  be  pro- 
duced —  of  the  rapid  advances  that  America  has  made  in 
the  divine  principle  of  toleration. 

We  are  the  public's  devoted  servants, 

CAREY,  STEWABT  <&  Co. 
Philadelphia,  Sept.  24, 1790." 


Towards  the  close  of  the  year  in  which  this 
appeal  was  issued  the  Douay  Bible  appeared; 
that  is,  December  1,  1790.  The  two  volumes 
were  bound  in  one.  The  type  that  was  used 
was  made  especially  for  it,  and  was  cast  by  the 
firm  of  Baine  &  Co.  of  Philadelphia.  The  books 
of  third  and  fourth  Maccabees,  the  third  and 
fourth  of  Esdras,  and  the  Prayer  of  Manasses, 
are  omitted  on  the  ground  that  "they  have 
never  been  received  by  the  Church." 


72  EARLY  BIBLES. 

The  Title-Page :  — 

THE 

HOLY  BIBLE, 

TRANSLATED  FROM  THE 
LATIN  VULGATE  I 

Diligently  compared  with  the 

HEBREW,  GREEK,  AND  OTHER  EDITIONS, 

In  divers  languages  ; 

And  first  published  by 
THE  ENGLISH  COLLEGE  AT  DOWAY,i  ANNO  1609. 

Newly  revised,  and  corrected  according  to 
THE  CLEMENTINE  EDITION  OF  THE  SCRIPTURES. 

WITH  ANNOTATIONS  FOR  ELUCIDATING 

The  principal  difficulties  of  Holy  Writ. 

Haurietis  aquas  in  gaudio  de  f ontibus  Salvatoris.  Isaiae 
XII.  3. 

PHILADELPHIA : 

Printed  and  sold  by  Carey,  Stewart  and  Co. 
M.DCC.XC. 

The  annotations  are  printed  at  the  bottom  of 
the  pages.  The  list  of  subscribers  is  given,  and 

1  This  word  is  usually  spelled  "  Douay,"  or  "  Douai,"  but 
the  above  spelling  occurs  ou  the  title-pages  of  early  American 
Bibles. 


THE  FIRST  DOUAY  VERSION.  73 

extends  from  page  5  to  8.  The  New  Testa- 
ment has  no  title-page.  The  end  of  the  vol- 
ume is  supplied  with  various  tables;  namely, 
"  Table  of  References,"  "  Chronological  Table," 
"  Order  and  Distribution  of  the  Psalms,"  and  a 
44  Table  of  the  Epistles  and  Gospels." 


THE   THOMAS  BIBLE. 


THE  first  folio  Bible  and  also  the  first  royal 
quarto  Bible  in  English  published  in  America 
came  from  the  press  of  Isaiah  Thomas  of 
Worcester,  Mass.  The  history  of  this  publisher 
was  that  of  a  poor  boy,  starting  in  life  with  few 
advantages  and  a  scanty  education,  but,  by 
dint  of  industry,  perseverance,  and  self -educa- 
tion, advancing  step  by  step  until  he  became 
one  of  the  foremost  citizens  of  the  land. 

At  six  years  of  age  young  Thomas  was 
apprenticed  to  Zechariah  Fowle,  a  printer  of 
Boston.  The  occupation  was  congenial  to  the 
lad,  and  he  followed  his  calling  through  many 
years  with  enthusiasm.  At  eighteen  years  of 
age  he  left  his  employer,  and  worked  at  print- 
ing in  Nova  Scotia,  New  Hampshire,  and  South 
Carolina.  In  1770  he  returned  to  Boston,  and, 

74 


THE   THOMAS  BIBLE.  75 

in  partnership  with  his  former  master,  started  a 
newspaper  known  as  The  Massachusetts  Spy. 
Three  months  later  he  became  the  sole  proprie- 
tor of  the  paper,  which  he  edited  with  ability 
and  success.  From  a  humble  beginning  with  a 
few  subscribers  it  grew  to  the  largest  circulation 
of  any  paper  in  Boston,  and  its  influence  was 
known  and  felt  throughout  the  land.  It  had  to 
take  part  in  the  conflict  which  was  then  raging 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  colonies.  At 
first  it  was  independent;  but  later  Thomas 
threw  all  his  sympathies,  energies,  and  influ- 
ence into  the  cause  of  the  colonies.  Just 
before  the  battle  of  Lexington  the  type  and 
presses  of  The  Spy  were  removed  by  night 
from  Boston  and  taken  to  Worcester.  There 
the  publication  of  the  paper  was  resumed, 
and  the  Provincial  Government  assisted  Mr. 
Thomas  by  giving  him  the  public  printing. 
Worcester  became  the  scene  of  his  greatest 
activities ;  for  he  engaged  in  printing,  publish- 
ing, manufacturing,  and  editing.  Paper  for  his 
publications  was  made  in  a  mill  that  he  oper- 


76  EARLY  BIBLES. 

ated,  and  he  also  did  his  own  binding.  He 
entered  largely  into  the  importation  of  books, 
and  at  one  time  had  nine  book-stores  in  differ- 
ent cities. 

In  1786  he  imported  type  for  the  printing  of 
music,  which  was  the  first  font  of  this  kind  to 
come  to  America.  He  did  an  extensive  busi- 
ness in  Boston  under  the  firm  name  of  Thomas 
&  Andrews.  In  1791  Mr.  Thomas  published 
two  editions  of  the  Bible  at  Worcester,  the  one 
in  folio  and  the  other  in  royal  quarto.  A  pros- 
pectus was  sent  out,  detailing  the  advantages 
to  subscribers.  The  Bible  was  to  be  printed  in 
new  type,  "large,  beautiful,  and  suited  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  eyes  of  all,  especially 
those  of  the  aged  and  infirm."  It  promised 
that  the  paper  "  shall  be  fully  equal  in  good- 
ness, if  not  a  superior  quality,  to  the"  various 
English  editions. 

The  subscription  price  is  named  as  "only 
seven  dollars."  As  an  indication  of  the  scar- 
city of  money  at  that  time,  the  following  from 
the  prospectus  is  interesting :  — 


THE   THOMAS  BIBLE.  77 

"  To  make  payment  easy  to  those  who  wish  to  be  en- 
couragers  of  this  laudable  undertaking,  and  to  be  in  posses- 
sion of  so  valuable  property  as  a  royal  quarto  Bible,  and 
who  are  not  able  to  pay  for  one  all  in  cash,  from  such  the 
publisher  will  receive  one-half  of  the  sum,  or  twenty-one 
shillings,  in  the  following  articles,  viz.,  wheat,  rye,  Indian 
corn,  butter,  or  pork,  if  delivered  at  his  store  in  Worcester, 
or  at  the  store  of  himself  and  company  in  Boston,  by  the 
twentieth  day  of  December,  1790,  the  remaining  sum  of 
twenty-one  shillings  to  be  paid  in  cash,  as  soon  as  the  books 
are  ready  for  delivery.  This  proposal  is  made  to  accommo- 
date all,  notwithstanding  the  sum  of  twenty-one  shillings 
will  by  no  means  be  the  proportion  of  cash  that  each  Bible 
bound  will  cost  the  publisher." 

The  booksellers  of  the  United  States  are  in- 
formed that,  if  they  subscribe  "  for  twelve  or 
more  copies  in  sheets,"  they  "  shall  have  them 
on  full  as  generous  terms  as  "  English  publish- 
ers supply  books  to  the  trade.  "  The  reverend 
clergy  "  are  also  informed  that  "all  who  sub- 
scribe for  twelve  copies,  or  procure  twelve 
copies  to  be  subscribed  for,  and  will  be  answer- 
able, and  make  payment  for  them  agreeably  to 
this  proposal,  shall  be  entitled  to,  and  receive  a 
thirteenth  copy,  handsomely  bound,  for  their 
trouble." 

The    two    editions    of    the    Thomas    Bible 


78  EARLY  BIBLES. 

appeared  in   December,  1791.     The   title-page 
of  the  folio  reads  — 

THE 

HOLY    BIBLE, 

CONTAINING  THE 

OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS: 

with  the 
APOCRYPHA. 

TRANSLATED 
OUT  OF  THE  ORIGINAL  TONGUES, 

and 

WITH  THE   FORMER  TRANSLATIONS  DILIGENTLY 

COMPARED  AND  REVISED, 

BY  THE  SPECIAL  COMMAND  OF  KING  JAMES  I.   OF 
ENGLAND. 

frith  an 
INDEX. 

APPOINTED  TO  BE  READ  IN  CHURCHES. 
VOL.  I. 

UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 

PRINTED  AT  THE   PRESS  IN  WORCESTER,  MASSACHUSETTS, 

BY  ISAIAH  THOMAS. 

SOLD   BY   HIM  IN  WORCESTER;   AND  BY  HIM  AND  COMPANY 
AT  FAUST'S  STATUE,  NO.  45,  NEWBURY  STREET,  BOSTON 

M.DCC.XCI. 

The  first  and  second  pages  are  covered  with 
"  The  printer's  Address,  To  Christians  of  Every 


THE  THOMAS  BIBLE.  79 

Denomination."  The  third  and  part  of  the 
fourth  pages,  "  To  the  Publick,"  and  "Address 
of  the  Translators  to  King  James."  Then  fol- 
low "Names  and  Order  of  Books."  The  text 
extends  from  Genesis  to  end  of  Proverbs,  from 
page  5  to  page  460,  which  closes  the  first  vol- 
ume. The  second  begins  with  Ecclesiastes. 
The  New  Testament  title-page  reads  — 

THE  NEW 

TESTAMENT 

of 

OUB  LORD  AND  SAVIOUR 

JESUS  CHRIST, 

TRANSLATED 

OUT  OF  THE  ORIGINAL  GREEK, 
AND 

With  the  former   Translations   diligently  compared    and 
revised, 

BY    THE    SPECIAL    COMMAND     OF    KING    JAMES    I.   OF 
ENGLAND. 

Together  with  an 

INDEX 

to  the 

HOLY  BIBLE. 

APPOINTED  TO  BE   READ  IN  CHURCHES. 


80  EARLY  BIBLES. 

The  second  volume  ends  with  "Tables  of 
Weights,  Measures,  Coins,  &c.,"  "Tables  of 
Time,  Offices,  and  Conditions,"  and  "  Table  of 
Kindred."  The  two  volumes  cover  1,012  pages 
of  printed  matter.  The  Thomas  Bible  is  illus- 
trated with  fifty  copper-plate  engravings,  which 
doubtless  gave  it  additional  value  in  the  eyes  of 
many.  The  frontispiece  of  the  first  volume 
illustrates  the  Triumph  of  the  Gospel  through- 
out the  world.  The  frontispiece  to  the  Apocry- 
pha is  an  emblematical  representation  of  the 
Old  and  New  Dispensations.  The  fifty  copper- 
plates were  executed  by  four  artists  and  are 
signed.  There  are  three  woodcuts,  —  one  be- 
fore the  Book  of  Genesis,  representing  Adam  and 
Eve ;  a  second  before  the  Apocrypha,  of  Judith 
and  Holofernes ;  and  the  third  before  the  New 
Testament,  of  the  Crucifixion.  This  edition 
was  usually  bound  in  two  volumes,  though  it  is 
occasionally  seen  in  one. 

The  general  title-page  of  the  royal  quarto 
Bible  is  worded  the  same  way  as  the  folio,  with 
the  addition  of  these  words :  — 


THE   THOMAS  BIBLE.  81 

WITH 

MARGINAL  NOTES  AND  REFERENCES. 

To  which  are  added  an 
INDEX 
and  an 

ALPHABETICAL  TABLE 
OF  ALL  THE  NAMES  IN  THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS, 

with  their  significations. 

It  differs  in  the  body  of  the  work  from  the 
folio  in  having  parallel  lines  dividing  the  col- 
umns of  the  text.  It  lacks  the  three  wood-cuts 
found  in  the  other  edition,  and,  as  the  title- 
page  indicates,  has  notes,  references,  and  index. 
Some  copies  were  supplied  with  a  Concordance. 
According  to  the  publisher's  announcement,  it 
could  be  supplied  to  subscribers  in  three  forms. 
The  first  was  with  forty-eight  copper-plates  and 
Concordance ;  the  second,  without  plates  or  Con- 
cordance ;  and  the  third,  with  the  Concordance. 
The  book  was  published  in  two  volumes. 

The  two  Thomas  Bibles  of  1791  were  with- 
out doubt  far  in  advance  of  any  other  publica- 
tions of  the  same  kind  that  had  appeared  in 
America  in  point  of  typography,  excellence  of 


82  EARLY  BIBLES. 

paper,  binding,  and  general  execution.  Benja- 
min Franklin,  an  expert  in  printing,  paid  a  high 
compliment  to  Thomas  when  he  said,  "  He  is 
the  Baskerville  of  America." 

The  Thomas  Bible  appeared  fifteen  years 
after  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  What 
the  publisher  says  in  the  preface,  or  Address, 
of  the  prospects  and  hopes  of  the  young  Repub- 
lic is  worth  reading.  He  writes,  — 

"  The  general  state  of  our  country  must  afford  satisfac- 
tion to  every  benevolent  mind.  Evidences  of  increasing 
prosperity  present  themselves  on  every  side  to  our  view. 
Abroad,  our  national  character  is  rising  to  dignity  and  emi- 
nence; at  home,  confidence  is  established  in  our  government, 
the  spirit  of  patriotism  appears  to  be  the  actuating  principle 
with  the  distinguished  characters  of  our  age,  and  the  great- 
est exertions  are  making  for  the  public  good.  The  civil  and 
religious  rights  of  men  are  generally  understood,  and  by  all 
enjoyed.  The  sciences  which  open  to  the  minds  of  men  a 
view  of  the  works  and  ways  of  God,  and  the  arts  which 
tend  to  the  support,  the  convenience,  and  the  ornament  of 
society,  begin  to  receive  proper  encouragement  from  the  ad- 
ministration of  state  and  national  governments,  and  by  the 
application  and  enterprise  of  individuals  are  approaching  to 
excellence  and  perfection.  The  means  of  a  good  education 
are  daily  becoming  more  general  ;  and  the  present  spirit  of 
industry  and  economy,  which  pervades  all  classes  of  men, 
furnishes  the  brightest  prospects  of  future  prosperity  and 
welfare.  While  a  general  solicitude  prevails  to  encourage 
the  arts  and  to  promote  national  honor,  dignity,  and  happi- 


THE   THOMAS  BIBLE.  83 

ness,  can  any  be  indifferent  to  those  improvements  which 
are  necessary  to  secure  to  all  the  free  and  independent  exer- 
cise of  the  Rights  of  Conscience?  The  civil  authority  hath 
set  an  example  of  moderation  and  candor  to  all  Christians, 
by  securing  equal  privileges  to  all;  and  it  must  be  their  ar- 
dent and  united  wish,  independently  of  foreign  aid,  to  be 
supplied  with  copies  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  —  the  founda- 
tion of  their  religion  —  a  religion  which  furnishes  motives 
to  the  faithful  performance  of  every  patriotic,  civil,  and 
social  duty,  superior  to  the  temptations  of  ambition,  avarice, 
and  selfishness ;  which  opens  prospects  to  the  human  mind 
that  will  be  realized  when  the  relation  to  civil  govern- 
ment shall  be  dissolved,  and  which  will  raise  its  real  disciples 
to  their  highest  glory  and  happiness  when  the  monuments 
of  human  genius,  art,  and  enterprise  shall  be  lost  in  the 
general  dissolution  of  nature." 

An  octavo  edition  of  the  Bible  was  published 
by  Mr.  Thomas  in  1790,  and  another  in  1802. 
The  duodecimo,  or  Thomas  "standing,"  edition 
was  issued  in  1797.  On  the  title-page  our  coun- 
try is  spoken  of  as  "  The  United  States  of 
Columbia."  The  same  book  reappeared  with 
fresh  dates  in  1798  and  1799. 

In  1802  Mr.  Thomas  retired  from  active  busi- 
ness and  left  his  printing  and  publishing  inter- 
ests in  the  hands  of  his  son.  The  remainder 
of  his  life  was  devoted  mainly  to  literary  pur- 
suits and  to  collecting  a  library.  There  was 


84  EARLY  BIBLES. 

published  in  1810  his  "  History  of  Printing  in 
America,"  in  two  volumes.  It  is  a  carefully 
prepared  work,  and  preserves  many  interesting 
facts  that  marked  the  early  history  of  this  land. 
In  1812  he  and  a  few  others  founded  the 
American  Antiquarian  Society  of  Worcester. 
He  was  elected  president,  and  continued  to  be 
re-elected  each  year  until  his  death.  He  donated 
eight  thousand  books  to  the  library  of  the  soci- 
ety, and  gave  ten  thousand  dollars  to  building 
a  hall.  His  entire  benefactions  in  this  one 
direction  reached  fifty  thousand  dollars.  As  a 
recognition  of  his  services  to  his  country,  and  his 
advancement  of  literature,  the  degree  of  M.A. 
was  conferred  upon  him  by  Dartmouth  College 
and  that  of  LL.D.  by  Allegheny  College.  The 
biographer  of  the  eminent  publisher  says  that 
when  Washington  visited  Worcester  in  1789 
he  said  to  a  nephew  of  Mr.  Thomas :  "  Young 
man,  your  uncle  has  set  you  a  bright  example 
of  patriotism ;  and  never  forget  that,  next  to  our 
God,  we  owe  our  highest  duty  to  our  country." 1 

1  B.  F.  Thomas's  Memoir  of  Isaiah  Thomas,  p.  78. 


THE   THOMAS  BIBLE.  85 

The  American  Antiquarian  Society,  which  was 
the  object  of  so  much  interest  to  Dr.  Thomas, 
has  become  one  of  the  strongest  institutions  of 
the  land.  It  has  a  new  building  with  a  library 
of  ninety  thousand  volumes.  It  contains  the 
noted  Mather  collection,  and  other  Americana. 

The  Society  has  a  full  set  of  the  Thomas 
publications  elegantly  bound,  and  containing 
the  library  plate  of  the  eminent  editor  and 
publisher.  Harvard  University  has  a  copy  of 
the  folio  Bible,  which  was  presented  by  the 
printer.  It  contains  in  front  a  printed  slip 
in  an  ornamented  border,  reading,  "  This  Book, 
being  one  of  the  First  edition  of  the  Folio 
Bible  printed  in  America,  is  the  gift  of  the  prin- 
ter, Isaiah  Thomas,  to  Harvard  College." 

The  Thomas  Bibles  are  not  rare,  and  copies 
are  found  in  nearly  all  of  our  older  libraries. 


THE   COLLINS  BIBLE. 


THE  first  Bible  printed  in  the  State  of.  New 
Jersey  came  from  the  press  of  Isaac  Collins  at 
Trenton.  He  was  born  in  New  Castle  County, 
Del.,  in  1746.  He  learned  the  printing  trade, 
part  of  the  time  with  James  Adams  of  Wil- 
mington, Del.,  and  completed  it  at  Williams- 
burg,  Va.  When  he  was  of  age  he  went  to 
Philadelphia  and  worked  with  several  firms, 
and  was  regarded  as  an  expert  and  superior 
workman.  He  removed  to  Burlington,  N.  J., 
in  1770,  when  his  business  ability  secured  him 
the  position  of  public  printer.  In  1777  he 
became  editor  of  a  weekly  paper  known  as 
The  New  Jersey  Gazette.  It  was  said  of  him 
that  "  he  carefully  avoided  publishing  any- 
thing which  tended  to  injure  the  religious,  civil, 


THE  COLLINS  BIBLE.  87 

or  political  interests  of  his  fellow-citizens." 
Later  he  removed  his  business  to  Trenton, 
where  in  1788  he  published  an  edition  of  the 
New  Testament.  He  issued  in  1789  proposals 
for  publishing  a  quarto  Bible  "  with  the  Apoc- 
rypha and  marginal  notes."  The  book  was  to 
be  "  in  one  large  volume  of  nine  hundred  and 
eighty-four  pages."  The  price  named  to  sub- 
scribers was  "  four  Spanish  dollars."  As  one 
of  the  inducements,  it  was  stated  that  "  Down- 
ame's  Concordance,  which  is  annexed  to  Eyre 
and  Strahan's  London  quarto  edition  of  1772, 
will  be  added,  without  further  expense  to  the 
subscribers." 

Mr.  Collins  presented  his  proposals  to  the 
various  bodies  of  Christians,  and  solicited  their 
encouragement  and  support.  The  first  to  take 
action  were  the  Friends.  The  minutes  of  a 
meeting  held  in  Philadelphia  in  1789  show  that 
the  proposed  Bible  was  indorsed  in  these 
words  :  — 

"  This  undertaking  being  a  matter  of  very  interesting 
concernment,  and  such  an  edition  as  therein  proposed  ap- 


88  EARLY  BIBLES. 

pearing  likely  to  be  useful  and  much  wanted,  on  a  deliberate 
and  weighty  attention  to  these  considerations,  it  is  the 
united  sense  of  the  meeting,  that  it  be  recommended  to  the 
quarterly  and  monthly  meetings  of  Friends  to  encourage 
the  work,  by  appointing  committees  to  procure  subscriptions 
agreeably  to  the  tenor  of  said  proposals,  and  forwarding  to 
this  meeting  lists  of  the  subscriptions  obtained  as  early  as 
may  be,  in  order  that  a  suitable  appointment  may  be  made 
for  the  assistance  of  the  printer  in  attending  to  the  correct- 
ness of  the  work." 


Mr.  Collins  was  a  member  of  the  Society  of 
Friends.  "He  received,"  says  Thomas,  "much 
assistance  from  the  Quakers  in  printing  the 
Bible,  particularly  from  those  in  Philadelphia, 
New  Jersey,  and  New  York." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Presbyterian  General 
Assembly,  held  in  Philadelphia,  May  25,  1789, 
a  resolution  was  passed  "  that  a  person  or  per- 
sons be  appointed  in  every  congregation,  vacant 
or  supplied,  to  procure  subscriptions  "  for  Col- 
lins's  Bible.  Rev.  John  Witherspoon,  D.D., 
and  two  others  were  appointed  to  help  "  revise 
and  correct  the  proof-sheets."  It  was  also 
recommended  that  "  Ostervald's  Notes "  be 
added  to  the  Bible. 


THE  COLLINS  BIBLE.  89 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Baptist  Association,  held 
in  the  same  year  and  city,  the  proposals  were 
indorsed,  but  with  a  condition.  The  members 
of  the  committee  appointed  to  assist  in  correct- 
ing the  proof-sheets  were  "  ordered  to  use  their 
influence  to  prevent  the  Apocrypha  or  any 
notes  of  any  kind  being  printed  and  included 
in  said  edition,  as  having  a  dangerous  tendency 
to  corrupt  the  simplicity  and  truth  of  the 
sacred  Scriptures,  by  being  thus  intimately 
associated  with  them." 

At  the  Convention  of  the  Protestant  Episco- 
pal Church  in  May,  1789,  held  at  Philadelphia, 
it  was  resolved  "  that  the  members  of  this  Con- 
vention will  assist  Mr.  Collins  in  the  procuring 
of  subscriptions." 

The  work  having  received  the  requisite  sup- 
port, the  Bible  was  issued  from  the  Collins 
press  in  Trenton  in  the  year  1791.  The  edition 
consisted  of  five  thousand  copies. 

The  title-page  reads  — 


90  EARLY  BIBLES. 

THE 

HOLY  BIBLE, 

CONTAINING  THE 

OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS: 

TRANSLATED  OUT  OF  THE 

ORIGINAL  TONGUES  : 
and  with  the  former  translations 

DILIGENTLY  COMPARED  AND  REVISED. 

TRENTON : 

PRINTED  AND  SOLD  BY  ISAAC  COLLINS. 

M.DCC.XCI. 

In  deference  to  the  Baptists  some  copies 
were  printed  without  the  Apocrypha  and 
"  Ostervald's  Notes."  An  address  to  the 
readers  by  Rev.  Dr.  Witherspoon  was  substi- 
tuted for  the  dedication  to  King  James.  The 
Bible  was  printed  with  great  care,  as  the  proof- 
sheets  were  read  over  eleven  times  before  the 
final  impression  was  made.  In  1793  Mr.  Col- 
lins printed  a  Bible  in  octavo.  He  removed  his 
business  in  1796  to  New  York  City. 


THE  FIRST   TRANSLATION  FROM  THE 
SEPTUAGINT. 


IN  the  year  1808,  the  press  of  Jane  Aitken  of 
Philadelphia  gave  to  the  world  a  version  of  the 
Bible  that  indicated  a  high  order  of  scholarship. 
It  came  from  the  pen  of  Charles  Thomson,  and 
was  the  first  translation  in  America  of  the 
Septuagint  into  English.  It  was  issued  in  four 
octavo  volumes.  Watson,  in  his  "  Annals  of 
Philadelphia,"  says  of  Thomson  : l  "He  told  me 
that  he  was  first  induced  to  study  Greek  from 
having  bought  a  part  of  the  Septuagint  at  an 
auction  in  this  city.  He  had  bought  it  for  a 
mere  trifle,  and  without  knowing  what  it  was, 
save  that  the  crier  said  it  was  outlandish  letters. 
When  he  had  mastered  it  enough  to  understand 
it,  his  anxiety  became  great  to  see  the  whole ; 
but  he  could  find  no  copy.  Strange  to  tell,  in 
the  interval  of  two  years,  passing  the  same  store, 

i  Watson's  "  Annals  of  Philadelphia,"  1850,  vol.  i.,  p.  568. 
91 


92  EARLY  BIBLES. 

and  chancing  to  look  in,  he  then  saw  the  re- 
mainder actually  crying  off  for  a  few  pence,  and 
he  bought  it.  I  used  to  tell  him  that  the  trans- 
lation which  he  afterwards  made  should  have 
had  these  facts  set  at  the  front  of  the  work  as  a 
preface;  for  that  great  work,  the  first  of  the 
kind  in  the  English  language,  strangely  enough, 
was  ushered  into  the  world  without  any  preface." 
The  title-page  reads :  — 

THE 
HOLY  BIBLE, 

CONTAINING 

THE  OLD  AND  NEW  COVENANT, 

COMMONLY  CALLED 
THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENT: 

TRANSLATED 

FROM  THE  GREEK 

BY  CHARLES  THOMSON, 

Late  Secretary  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 

PHILADELPHIA: 
PRINTED  BY  JANE  AITKEN, 

NO.  71    NORTH  THIRD  STREET. 

1808. 
4  vols. 


TRANSLATION  FROM  SEPTUAGINT.     93 

This  version  received  the  enthusiastic  ap- 
proval of  scholars  at  the  time  it  was  published, 
and  has  continued  to  be  valued  for  its  vigor  and 
perspicuity.  Orme  speaks  of  it  in  commendable 
terms  in  his  "  Bibliotheca  Bibliac  "  of  1824,  and 
Home  follows  in  like  terms  in  his  "Manual 
of  Biblical  Bibliography,"  published  in  1839. 
As  the  years  have  gone  by  Thomson's  transla- 
tion has  not  lost  its  place  in  the  minds  of  criti- 
cal Biblical  students.  As  one  evidence  of  this, 
it  need  only  be  stated  that  it  was  consulted 
by  the  Revision  Committee  in  their  version  of 
1881. 

Charles  Thomson  was  born  at  Maghera,  Ire- 
land, on  Nov.  29,  1729.  He  and  his  father 
sailed  for  America  in  1741,  but  the  father  died 
at  sea,  and  the  son  landed  at  New  Castle,  Dela- 
ware. In  the  war  with  Great  Britain,  Thom- 
son gave  his  sympathy  and  influence  to  the 
side  of  the  colonies.  At  the  organization  of  the 
Continental  Congress  at  Philadelphia,  in  1774, 
Thomson  was  elected  Secretary  by  a  unaminous 
vote.  He  declined  to  receive  pay  for  his-  first 


94  EARLY  BIBLES. 

year  of  service  to  Congress,  and  that  body,  in 
recognition  of  his  patriotism,  presented  a  silver 
urn  to  his  wife,  who  was  a  sister  of  Benjamin 
Harrison  of  Virginia,  one  of  the  signers  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  Thomson  filled 
other  positions  of  honor  and  responsibility,  and 
was  appointed  to  announce  to  Washington  his 
election  as  President  of  the  United  '  States. 
Each  year  Thomson  was  re-elected  as  Secretary, 
up  to  1789,  when  he  retired  for  the  purpose 
of  devoting  himself  to  Biblical  study.  Such 
cases  are  rare,  of  men  giving  up  honorable  pub- 
lic positions  for  the  sake  of  mental  pursuits. 
His  retirement  was  regretted  by  Washington  and 
his  associates.  Thomson  was  greatly  esteemed 
for  his  nobility  of  character,  and  especially  for 
his  veracity.  The  Delaware  Indians,  with  whom 
he  was  commissioned  to  treat,  called  him  "  The 
Man  of  Truth."  He  died  in  1824,  at  Lower 
Merion,  Montgomery  County,  Penn.  His  resi- 
dence for  many  years  was  at  Bryn  Mawr,  in  the 
same  State.  His  house  is  still  standing,  and  the 
room  is  shown  which  was  used  as  his  library 


TRANSLATION  FROM  SEPTUAGINT.      95 

when  he  wrote  his  translation  of  the  Bible. 
The  original  manuscript  is  in  the  possession  of 
Allegheny  College,  and  three  note-books  in 
Thomson's  handwriting,  containing  suggestions 
and  alterations  concerning  his  translations,  are 
in  the  library  of  the  Pennsylvania  Historical 
Society.  His  own  copy  of  the  Bible,  with  the 
manuscript  notes  in  the  margins,  is  the  prop- 
erty of  the  Library  Company  of  Philadelphia. 

The  strong  translation  that  Thomson  gave  us 
was  the  result  of  long  years  of  patient  investi- 
gation, persistent  study,  and  an  intense  love  for 
his  work. 

Mr.  Albert  J.  Edwards  says,  "  Thomson's  trans- 
lation is  notable  for  its  sound  erudition  and 
scholarly  care,  but  also  for  its  singular  freedom 
from  traditional  renderings.  Wherever  it  was 
possible  to  translate  a  theological  term  with 
breadth  and  freshness  it  was  done,  but  only 
where  an  honest  latitude  was  allowed  by  the 
original."  He  also  adds,  "  It  seems  to  me  that 
a  version  of  such  sterling  worth  ought  not  to  be 
left  languishing  on  the  shelves  of  old  book- 


96  EARLY  BIBLES. 

stores,  to  be  bought  as  a  bibliographical  curi- 
osity, as  it  now  has  too  long  been,  but  should 
be  taken  up  by  a  good  publisher  and  re-edited 
with  care.  Neither  Roman  nor  Genevan, 
neither  High  Church  nor  Low,  of  no  sect  and 
of  no  prejudice,  whether  of  unbelief  or  of  over- 
belief,  this  American  patriot  of  the  Continental 
Congress,  who  lived  to  be  ninety-four  and 
spent  a  glorious  old  age  in  his  home  near  Bryn 
Mawr,  translating  the  records  of  our  faith, 
ought  to  stand  among  us  once  more  in  the  form 
of  a  newer  and  more  accessible  edition  of  his 
great  work,  the  Old  and  New  Covenants."1 

In  1815  Mr.  Thomson  published  at  Philadel- 
phia a  work  bearing  the  title  of  "  A  Synopsis 
of  the  Four  Evangelists,  or  a  Regular  History 
of  the  Conception,  Birth,  Doctrine,  Miracles, 
Death,  Resurrection,  and  Ascension  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  the  Words  of  the  Evangelists."  Wil- 
liam McCullogh  was  the  printer. 

1  Pennsylvania  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography.  Octo- 
ber number,  1891,  p.  335. 


THE  FIRST  TRANSLATION   FROM  THE 
PESHITO  SYRIAC  VERSION. 


AMONG  the  oldest  versions  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments  is  the  Peshito  Syriac,  the  word 
Peshito  meaning  "simple,"  probably  in  refer- 
ence to  its  simplicity  of  style.  There  is  no 
doubt  concerning  the  antiquity  of  this  version, 
but  there  is  a  wide  range  of  opinion  as  to  its 
exact  date.  Home,  in  his  Introduction,  says, 
"Bishop  Walton,  Carpzov,  Leusden,  Bishop 
Lowth,  and  Dr.  Kennicott  fix  its  date  to  the 
first  century ;  Bauer  and  some  other  German 
writers,  to  the  second  or  third  century;  Jahn 
fixes  it,  at  the  least,  to  the  second  century ;  De 
Rossi  pronounces  it  to  be  very  ancient,  but  does 
not  specify  any  precise  date.  The  most  prob- 
able opinion  is  that  of  Michaelis,  who  ascribes 
97 


98  EARLY  BIBLES. 

the  Syriac  version  of  both  Testaments  to  the 
close  of  the  first,  or  to  the  earlier  part  of 
the  second  century,  at  which  time  the  Syrian 
churches  flourished  most,  and  the  Christians 
at  Edessa  had  a  temple  for  divine  worship 
erected  after  the  model  of  that  at  Jerusalem, 
and  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  they  would  be 
without  a  version  of  the  Old '  Testament,  the 
reading  of  which  had  been  introduced  by  the 
Apostles." l 

While  the  date  has  not  been  fixed,  it  can  be  said 
that  the  Peshito  was  an  old  version  even  in  the 
time  of  Ephraim  the  Syrian,  who  died  in  373.  Of 
the  authorship  of  the  version  nothing  is  known, 
though  it  is  evident  that  it  came  from  many 
hands.  From  certain  resemblances  to  the  Sep- 
tuagint,  it  is  thought  that  Jewish  converts  had 
much  to  do  with  this  version.  Of  the  place  where 
it  was  written  nothing  can  be  said  definitely, 
though  it  has  been  conjectured  that  it  may  have 
been  written  at  Antioch  or  Edessa.  The  ver- 
sions known  as  the  Philoxenian  and  Hierosoly- 

i  Home's  Introduction,  vol.  i.,  p.  270. 


PESHITO  SYRIAC  VERSION.  99 

imtian  are  of  later  date  and  of  little  value  com- 
pared with  the  Peshito  New  Testament.  The 
latter  holds  a  high  place  among  scholars,  as  it 
helps  to  clear  up  some  passages  of  the  Greek 
Testament. 

The  first  edition  of  the  Peshito  New  Testa- 
ment was  printed  in  Vienna  in  1555,  under  the 
patronage  of  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  and  was 
designed  for  the  use  of  the  Jacobite  Christians 
of  the  East.  In  later  years  other  editions  were 
printed  in  Germany,  Belgium,  Italy,  France,  and 
England.  In  some  cases  the  Testaments  were 
printed  in  Syriac  and  Latin,  or  in  Syriac  and 
Hebrew.  In  1816  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society  published  an  edition  in  the  Syriac 
alone,  which  was  intended  for  missionary  use  in 
India. 

The  first  translation  in  Great  Britain,  of  the 
Peshito  New  Testament  into  English,  was  made 
in  1846,  by  J.  W.  Etheridge,  who  published 
the  Four  Gospels.  The  first  translation  of  the 
Peshito  New  Testament  in  the  United  States 
came  from  the  pen  of  the  Rev.  James  Murdock, 


100  EARLY  BIBLES. 

D.D.,  in  1851.     The  title-page  of  the  book  is  as 
follows :  — 

THE 

NEW  TESTAMENT  ; 

OB, 
THE  BOOK  OF  THE  HOLY  GOSPEL 

OF  OUR  LORD  AND  OUR  GOD, 

JESUS  THE  MESSIAH. 

A     LITERAL    TRANSLATION  *  FROM    THE     SYRIAC     PESHITO 
VERSION. 

BY  JAMES  MURDOCK,  D.D. 

NEW  YORK  .* 

PUBLISHED  BY  STANFORD  AND  SWORDS, 

NO.   137  BROADWAY. 
1851. 

Dr.  Murdock  says  in  the  Preface  :  "  In  this 
translation  the  Books  of  the  New  Testament  are 
divided  into  Paragraphs,  according  to  the  sense  ; 
just  as  in  Campbell's  translation  of  the  Four  Gos- 
pels, and  in  the  Greek  Testaments  of  Bengel, 
Griesbach,  Knapp,  and  others.  The  common 
divisions  into  Chapters  and  Verses  are  noted 
in  the  margin,  and  the  Verses  are  also  put  in 
parentheses  in  the  middle  of  the  lines.  For  the 


PESHITO  SYRIAC   VESSIOltf.  1 OJ 

benefit  of  those  who  have  some  knowledge  of  the 
Syriac  language,  the  more  important  words  are 
frequently  placed  in  the  side  margin,  with  refer- 
ences to  the  corresponding  words  in  the  transla- 
tion. Deviations  of  the  Syriac  text  from  the 
Greek,  and  also  the  susceptibilities  of  the  Syriac 
words,  or  phrases,  of  a  different  rendering  from 
that  in  the  text,  are  likewise  indicated  in  the  side 
margin.  The  foot  margin  is  reserved  for  occa- 
sional comments  and  critical  observations." 

The  book  is  an  octavo,  and  the  text  covers  471 
pages.  The  author  tells  us  he  "  commenced  his 
translation  early  in  August,  1845,  and  completed 
it  on  the  16th  of  June,  1846." 

Dr.  Murdock  was  born  in  Westbrook,  Conn., 
Feb.  16,  1776.  He  was  graduated  at  Yale  Col- 
lege in  1797.  In  1815  he  was  made  Professor 
of  Ancient  Languages  in  the  University  of  Ver- 
mont, and  four  years  later  was  called  to  the 
chair  of  Sacred  Rhetoric  and  Ecclesiastical  His- 
tory in  Andover  Theological  Seminary.  In  1829 
he  made  New  Haven  his  home,  and  engaged  in 
literary  work.  He  died  at  Columbus,  Miss.,  in 


EARLY  BIBLES. 

1856.  He  translated  a  number  of  works  from 
the  German,  and  was  well  known  as  a  linguistic 
scholar.  His  translation  of  the  Peshito  New 
Testament  is  considered  a  faithful  rendering 
from  the  Syriac. 


CURIOUS  VERSIONS. 


THE  crank  has  invaded  every  department  of 
literature,  and  has  even  tried  his  hand  at  the 
Biblical.  Men  of  strong  prejudices,  narrow-  or 
broad-gauge  views,  and  possessed  with  a  hobby, 
have  sought  to  color  Scripture  according  to 
their  own  opinions,  and  with  little  deference  to 
the  original  sense  of  the  languages  of  Holy 
Writ.  Some  scholars  who  have  been  strong  in 
other  directions,  have  exhibited  their  weakness 
when  dealing  with  the  words  of  Inspiration. 
As  a  result,  they  have  brought  upon  themselves 
confusion  and  ridicule.  Franklin  was  in  many 
ways  a  great  man,  but  he  published  his  own 
foolishness  when  he  attempted  to  improve  the 
meaning  of  the  Bible.  Among  his  "  Baga- 
telles," which  Mr.  William  Temple  Franklin 

103 


104 


EARLY  BIBLES. 


says  "  were  chiefly  written  by  Dr.  Franklin  for 
the  amusement  of  his  intimate  society  in  Lon- 
don and  Paris,  and  were  actually  collected  in  a 
small  portfolio  endorsed  as  above,"  appears  the 
following  letter :  — 

PROPOSED  NEW  VERSION  OF  THE  BIBLE. 

To  the  Printer  of 

SIB,  —  It  is  now  more  than  one  hundred  and  seventy 
years  since  the  translation  of  our  common  English  Bible. 
The  language  in  that  time  is  much  changed,  and  the  style, 
being  obsolete,  and  thence  less  agreeable,  is  perhaps  one 
reason  why  the  reading  of  that  excellent  book  is  of  late  so 
much  neglected.  I  have  therefore  thought  it  would  be  well 
to  procure  a  new  version,  in  which,  preserving  the  sense, 
the  turn  of  phrase  and  manner  of  expression  should  be 
modern.  I  do  not  pretend  to  have  the  necessary  abilities 
for  such  a  work  myself  :  I  throw  out  the  hint  for  the  con- 
sideration of  the  learned ;  and  only  venture  to  send  you  a 
few  verses  of  the  first  chapter  of  Job,  which  may  serve  as 
the  sample  of  the  kind  of  version  I  would  recommend. 

A.  B. 


OLD  TEXT. 

VERSE  6.  Now  there  was  a  day 
when  the  sons  of  God  came  to  pre- 
sent themselves  before  the  Lord, 
and  Satan  came  also  among  them. 


NEW  VERSION. 

VERSE  6.  And  it  being  levee 
day  in  Heaven,  all  God's  nobility 
came  to  court  to  present  them- 
selves before  him;  and  Satan  also 
appeared  in  the  circle  as  one  of 
the  ministry. 


CURIOUS    VERSIONS. 


105 


OLD  TEXT. 

7.  And    the    Lord    said   unto 
Satan,    Whence     comest     thou? 
Then  Satan  answered   the   Lord 
and  said,  From  going  to  and  fro 
in  the  earth,  and  from  walking  up 
and  down  in  it. 

8.  And   the    Lord    said    unto 
Satan,  Hast  thou  considered  my 
servant  Job,  that  there  is  none 
like  him  in  the  earth,  a  perfect 
and  an  upright  man,  one  that  fear- 
eth  God  and  escheweth  evil? 

9.  Then    Satan  answered    the 
Lord,  and  said,  Doth  Job  fear  God 
for  nought? 

10.  Hast   not   thou    made    an 
hedge  about  him,  and  about  his 
house,  and  about  all  that  he  hath 
on  every  side?    Thou  hast  blessed 
the  work  of  his  hands,   and  his 
substance  is  increased  in  the  land. 

11.  But   put   forth  thine  hand 
now,  and  touch  all  that  he  hath, 
and  he  will  curse  thee  to  thy  face. 


NEW  VERSION. 

7.  And  God   said  unto  Satan, 
You  have  been  some  time  absent; 
where  were  you?    And  Satan  an- 
swered, I  have  been  at  my  country 
seat,  and  in  different  places  visit- 
ing my  friends. 

8.  And  God  said,   Well,  what 
think  you  of  Lord  Job?    You  see 
he  is  my  best  friend,  a  perfectly 
honest   man,  full  of  respect  for 
me,  and  avoiding  everything  that 
might  offend  me. 

9.  And   Satan  answered,  Does 
your   majesty   imagine    that   his 
good  conduct  is  the  effect  of  per- 
sonal attachment  and  affection? 

10.  Have    you    not   protected 
him   and    heaped    your    benefits 
upon  him,  till  he  is  grown  enor- 
mously rich? 

11.  Try  him;  — only  withdraw 
your  favor,  turn  him  out  of  his 
places,  and  withhold  his  pensions, 
and  you  will  soon  find  him  in  the 

i  opposition. 


Mr.  McMasters,  in  his  recent  life  of  Franklin 
as  a  man  of  letters,  says,1  — 

"  In  no  book,  it  is  safe  to  say,  are  the  force  and  beauty  of 
the  English  tongue  so  finely  shown  as  in  King  James's 
Bible.  But  on  Franklin  that  force  and  beauty  were  wholly 
lost.  The  language  he  pronounced  obsolete.  The  style  he 
thought  not  agreeable,  and  he  was  for  a  new  rendering,  in 

i  MCMASTERS,  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  :  American  Men  of  Letters 
Series,  pp.  87,  88. 


106  EARLY  BIBLES. 

which  the  turn  of  phrase  and  manner  of  expression  should 
be  modern.  That  there  might  be  no  mistake  as  to  his 
meaning,  he  gave  a  sample  of  liow  the  work  should  be  done; 
took  some  verses  from  the  first  chapter  of  Job,  stripped 
them  of  every  particle  of  grace,  beauty,  imagery,  terseness, 
and  strength,  and  wrote  a  paraphrase,  which  of  all  para- 
phrases of  the  Bible  is  surely  the  worst. 

"The  plan  is  beneath  criticism.  Were  such  a  piece  of 
folly  ever  begun  there  would  remain  but  one  other  depth 
of  folly  to  which  it  would  be  possible  to  go  down.  Franklin 
proposed  to  fit  out  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  with  lords, 
nobles,  a  ministry,  and  levee  days.  It  would,  on  the  same 
principle,  be  proper  to  make  another  version  suitable  for 
republics ;  a  version  from  which  every  term  and  expression 
peculiar  to  a  monarchy  should  be  carefully  kept  out,  and 
only  such  as  are  applicable  to  a  republic  be  put  in." 

In  1776  Kneeland  &  Adams  of  Boston 
printed  a  translation  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  Mat- 
thew, made  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Mather,  in 
which  the  Lord's  Prayer  has  this  curious 
rendering :  — 

"  Our  Father,  who  art  in  the  Heavens,  sanctified  be  Thy 
Name  ;  Thy  Kingdom  come,  Thy  Will  be  done,  as  in  Heaven, 
so  upon  the  Earth ;  Give  us  to-day  that  our  bread,  the  super- 
substantial  ;  and  forgive  us  our  debts,  as  we  forgive  them 
who  are  our  debtors;  and  introduce  us  not  into  afflictive 
trial,  but  deliver  us  from  the  Wicked  One,  because  thine  is 
the  Kingdom,  and  the  power,  and  the  glory  for  the  ages. 
Amen." 


CURIOUS   VERSIONS.  107 

Lilly,  Wait,  Coleman,  &  Holden  of  Boston 
printed  in  1833  what  claimed  to  be  "  A  New 
and  Corrected  Version  of  the  New  Testament." 
It  was  edited  by  Rev.  Rodolphus  Dickinson, 
"Rector  of  St.  Paul's  Parish,  District  of  Pendle- 
ton,  South  Carolina."  The  American  Monthly 
Review  for  March,  1833,  says,  "Apart  from 
its  literary  execution,  this  professed  translation 
has  no  distinctive  character ;  and  as  the  author 
—  in  his  preface  —  places  his  chief  reliance  on 
the  rhetorical  embellishments  with  which  he  has 
adorned  the  sacred  text,  we  are  constrained  to 
award  a  verdict  of  unqualified  condemnation." 

The  reckless  and  freehanded  nature  of  the 
translation  may  be  judged  by  the  quotations 
that  follow :  — 


John  iii.  3.  "  Except  a  man  be  reproduced,  he  cannot 
realize  the  reign  of  God. 

4.  Nicodemus  says  to  him,  How  can  a  man  be  pro- 
duced when  he  is  matured  ?  Can  he  again  pass  into  a  state 
of  embryo  and  be  produced  ?  " 

Acts  i.  18.  "And  (Judas)  falling  prostrate,  a  violent 
internal  spasm  ensued,  and  all  his  viscera  were  emitted." 

xxvi.  24.  "  Festus  declared  with  a  loud  voice,  Paul,  you 
are  insane!  Multiplied  research  drives  you  to  distraction." 


108  EARLY  BIBLES. 

In  1852  Henry  Oliphant,  of  Auburn,  New 
York,  printed  a  portion  of  the  New  Testament 
for  Hezekiah  Woodruff,  who  desired  to  render 
the  words  of  Scripture  after  the  language  of 
our  day.  Here  are  a  few  examples  of  his 
efforts,  with  the  original  spellings :  — 

St.  Matthew  iii.  4.  "  His  food  was  small  animals  and 
vegitable  honey. 

6.  Happy  are  they  who  hunger  and  thirst  for  correct- 
ness. 

20.  Unless  your  correctness  should  exceed  the  correct- 
ness of  the  clergy." 

xxvi.  24.     "  The  Son-of-man  maketh  his  exit. 

49.  Immediately  he  [Judas]  came  to  the  Saviour  and 
said,  Your  most  obedient,  Preceptor." 

It  is  a  relief  to  know  that  this  book  ended 
with  the  Gospel  of  St.  Matthew. 

At  various  times  editions  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment have  appeared  which  were  translated  in 
the  interests  of  certain  sectarian  bodies.  In 
1849  Joshua  V.  Himes  of  Boston  published  a 
"  Millerite  "  New  Testament.  In  1850  a  New 
Testament  was  printed  by  a  New  York  firm,  in 
which  these  words  were  placed  upon  the  title- 


CURIOUS   VERSIONS.  109 

page,  "Dictated  by  the  Spirit."  The  editor 
was  a  Spiritualist. 

A  version  of  the  New  Testament  was  printed 
in  Boston  by  Thomas  D.  Wait  &  Co.,  in  1809, 
to  advance  the  views  of  Socinianism.  The 
title-page  contains  this  remarkable  specimen  of 
the  English  language :  "No  offence  can  justly  be 
taken  for  this  new  labor ;  nothing  prejudicing 
any  other  man's  judgment  by  this  doing ;  nor 
yet  professing  this  so  absolute  a  translation,  as 
that  hereafter  might  follow  no  other  who  might 
see  that  which  as  yet  was  not  understood." 

The  title-pages  of  some  early  American  Bibles 
contain  curious  expressions.  What  were  known 
as  "  Hieroglyphical  Bibles "  were  common  in 
those  days.  On  the  title-pages  of  several  editions 
are  these  words,  "  For  the  instruction  and  amuse- 
ment of  children."  John  C.  Ricker  of  New 
York  printed  in  1833  an  edition  of  the  New 
Testament  containing  this  line  on  the  title-page, 
"  With  numerous  engravings,  and  the  sterling 
currency  reduced  to  dollars  and  cents." 

The  editor  of  a  Bible  printed  in  Philadelphia 


110  EARLY  BIBLES. 

in  1825  speaks  on  the  title-page  of  the  work, 
liberally  supplied  with  notes,  as  "  A  Complete 
Library  of  Divinity." 

Serious  errors  in  the  printing  of  American 
Bibles  are  not  very  numerous,  considering  the 
large  editions  of  the  Scriptures  that  have  been 
issued.  There  is  a  curious  mistake  in  Eliot's 
Indian  Bible  in  the  account  of  the  ten  virgins. 
Dr.  Trumbull  says,  "  Among  the  Indians  chas- 
tity was  a  masculine  virtue,  and  Eliot's  Natick 
interpreter  did  not  understand  that  the  noun 
wanted  was  feminine.  Subsequent  instruction 
doubtless  made  the  matter  clear,  but  in  the 
Indian  Bible  the  parable  in  Matthew  xxv.  1-12  is 
of  4  the  ten  chaste  young  men '  (piukqussuogpen- 
ompaog,  —  the  syllable  omp  marking  the  mascu- 
line gender),  and  so  in  every  place  in  which 
4  virgin '  occurs  in  the  English  version,  though 
in  most  cases  the  context  clearly  establishes  the 
true  gender.  The  right  word  was  keegsquau, 
which  is  to  be  found  (though  seldom  used)  in 
every  Algonkin  language." 

An  edition  of  the  New  Testament  published 


CURIOUS   VERSIONS.  Ill 

at  Utica,  N.Y.,  in  1829,  rendered  James  v.  17, 
"  Elias  was  a  man  possible  like  unto  us." 

A  Bible  published  at  Hartford  in  183T  printed 
2  Timothy  iii.  16  in  this  way,  "  All  Scripture  is 
given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profitable 
for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for 
destruction  in  righteousness." 

An  edition  of  the  Bible  printed  by  the  Ameri- 
can Bible  Society  in  1855  has  this  reading  of  St. 
Mark  v.  3,  "  Who  had  his  dwelling  among  the 
lambs,"  in  place  of  "  tombs." 

In  one  of  the  early  editions  of  the  Bible 
printed  by  Harding  of  Philadelphia  a  singular 
mistake  was  made  in  1  Kings  i.  21,  where  the 
words  "the  king  shall f  sleep  with  his  fathers," 
was  rendered  in  print,  "the  king  shall  dagger 
sleep  with  his  fathers."  This  is  certainly  the 
most  literal  following  of  "  copy  "  on  record. 


EARLY   EDITIONS  OF  THE  GREEK 
TESTAMENT. 


THE  first  edition  of  the  New  Testament  in 
Greek,  published  in  the  United  States,  ca'me  from 
the  press  of  Isaiah  Thomas,  Jr.,  at  Worcester, 
Mass.)  in  the  year  1800.  It  is  in  size  a  12mo  and 
bound  in  calf.  It  contains  on  the  second  page  a 
chronological  list  of  the  books  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament, and  at  the  end  this  note :  "  The  above 
Table  has  been  carefully  and  faithfully  collected 
from  the  writings  of  the  famous  Rev.  Nathaniel 
Lardner,  D.D."  This  note  is  followed  by  the 
name  of  "Caleb  Alexander"  as  editor.  Al- 
though the  title-page  states  that  the  book  fol- 
lows the  reading  of  Mill,  it  is  apparent  that  the 
editor  draws  freely  from  other  editions,  and 
especially  the  Elzevir  text  of  1678. 

An  edition  of  the  New  Testament  in  Greek 
and  Latin  arranged  in  parallel  columns  appeared 

112 


H    K  A  I  N  H 

AIA0HKH. 

N  O  V  U  M 

TEST  AMENTUM. 

JUXTA  EXEMPLAR  JOANNIS  M1LLIIAC* 
CURATISSIMB   JMPRESSUM. 


%MT1Q  PRIMA 


WIGOllNIjE, 

Excuddbt  ISAIAS  THOMAS    fu>f 


Fac-simile  of  the  title  page  of  the  first  Greek  Testament  printed  in  America. 
Exact  size. 


EDITIONS  OF  GREEK  TESTAMENT.     113 

in  Philadelphia  in  1806.  It  was  edited  by 
John  Watts,  and  printed  by  S.  F.  Bradford. 
Another  edition  by  the  same  printer  was  issued 
under  like  date,  wholly  in  Greek. 

Two  volumes  of  the  Greek  Testament  in 
octavo,  covering  in  all  890  pages,  were  pub- 
lished in  1809,  at  Cambridge,  dedicated  to  the 
President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College. 
The  text  is  after  Griesbach,  though  a  selection 
is  given  of  various  readings.  There  are  also 
observations  by  W.  Wells  and  W.  Hilliard. 

Isaiah  Thomas,  Jr.,  issued  another  edition  of 
the  Greek  Testament  in  1814,  but  the  place  of 
printing  was  Boston,  not  Worcester. 

The  title-page  differed  from  that  of  1800  in 
the  central  ornament,  which  consists  of  two 
reclining  figures  supporting  an  open  Bible,  with 
a  Greek  motto  from  1  Cor.  xv.  22.  The  text 
is  the  same  as  in  the  first  edition. 

George  Long,  71  Pearl  Street,  New  York, 
published  in  1821  a  12mo  New  Testament  in 
Greek  which  followed  the  rendering  of  Leus- 
den,  covering  699  pages. 


114  EARLY  BIBLES. 

Rev.  Abner  Kneeland,  a  Universalist  minister, 
edited  the  New  Testament  in  Greek  and  Eng- 
lish in  1822,  William  Fry  of  Philadelphia  being 
the  printer.  In  the  same  year  the  Testament 
solely  in  Greek  was  issued  by  the  same  editor. 
Kneeland  went  through  varied  experiences  in 
his  religious  opinions.  Beginning  as  a  Baptist 
minister,  he  then  became  a  Universalist,  and 
ended  as  a  Deist.  While  editor  of  the  Investi- 
gator he  was  tried  by  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Massachusetts  for  blasphemy. 

In  1822  Oliver  D.  Cooke  &  Sons  of  Hart- 
ford, Conn.,  published  a  12mo  Greek  Testament 
which  was  edited  by  Dr.  P.  Wilson  of  Columbia 
College,  other  issues  appearing  in  1825,  1827, 
and  1829.  After  this  date  various  editions  of 
Wilson's  Testament  were  published  in  Phila- 
delphia for  a  number  of  years. 

In  1837  an  important  and  since  widely  known 
edition  of  the  Greek  Testament  in  two  volumes 
was  issued  in  the  United  States,  with  the  im- 
print of  the  following  publishers :  Boston : 
Perkins  &  Marvin;  Philadelphia:  Henry  Per- 


EDITIONS  OF  GREEK  TESTAMENT.     115 

kins.  1837.  This  Testament  was  edited  by 
Rev.  Dr.  Bloomfield,  and  is  a  reprint  of  the 
second  London  edition.  The  scope  and  scholar- 
ship of  the  work  are  indicated  by  the  title-page, 
where  it  is  stated  that  the  book  contains  "  Eng- 
lish notes,  critical,  philological,  and  exegetical, 
partly  selected  and  arranged  from  the  best  com- 
mentators, ancient  and  modern,  but  chiefly  ori- 
ginal. The  whole  being  specially  adapted  to 
the  use  of  academical  students,  candidates  for 
the  sacred  office,  and  Ministers,  though  also 
intended  as  a  manual  edition  for  the  use  of 
theological  readers  in  general."  In  the  preface 
Dr.  Bloomfield  says,  "  The  text  has  been  formed 
after  long  and  repeated  examinations  of  the 
whole  of  the  New  Testament  for  that  purpose 
solely,  on  the  basis  of  the  last  edition  of  R. 
Stephens,  adopted  by  Mill,  whose  text  differs 
very  slightly  from,  but  is  admitted  to  be  prefer- 
able to,  the  common  text,  which  originated  in 
the  Elzevir  edition  of  1624.  From  this  there 
has  been  no  deviation,  except  on  the  most 
preponderating  evidence,  critical  conjecture 


116  EARLY  BIBLES. 

being  wholly  excluded,  and  such  alterations- 
only  introduced  as  rest  on  the  united  authority 
of  MSS.,  ancient  versions  and  Fathers,  and  the 
early  printed  editions,  but  especially  upon  the 
invaluable  Editio  Princeps ;  and  which  had 
been  already  adopted  in  one  or  more  of  the 
critical  editions  of  Bengel,  Wetstein,  Gries- 
bach,  Matthoei,  and  Scholz."  The  American 
edition  of  Dr.  Bloomfield's  work  also  contains 
a  preface  by  Professor  Stuart  of  Andover 
Theological  Seminary,  dated  Oct.  1,  1836. 
The  two  volumes  include  1261  pages  of  printed 
matter. 

This  book  went  through  many  editions,  some 
claiming  as  high  as  fourteen,  but  was  finally 
superseded  by  other  and  better  texts,  especially 
those  of  Ellicott  and  Alford. 

In  1838  an  American  reprint  of  the  Poly- 
micrian  Greek  Testament  was  issued  in  Phila- 
delphia by  Henry  Perkins,  Joseph  P.  Engles, 
A.M.,  being  the  editor.  On  one  of  the  first 
pages  of  this  book  the  words  "  The  New  Testa- 
ment" are  printed  in  forty-eight  different  Ian- 


EDITIONS  OF  GREEK  TESTAMENT.     117 

guages,  and  on  another  page  is  the  significant 
line,  "  Earth  speaks  with  many  tongues, 
Heaven  knows  but  one."  The  honored  and 
saintly  Dr.  W.  A.  Muhlenberg  has  said  that 
he  owed  to  Engles,  the  editor  of  this  work, 
more  of  his  success  in  life  than  to  any  other 
man.  The  Polymicrian  Greek  Testament  was 
first  published  in  England  in  1829,  with  a 
lexicon  prepared  by  William  Greenfield.  This 
lexicon  was  published  in  America  in  the  year 
1839,  revised  by  Engles,  and  after  that  date  was 
usually  bound  with  the  American  reprint  of  the 
Polymicrian.  Its  editor,  William  Greenfield, 
began  his  business  life  in  a  bindery,  and  early 
displayed  a  marvellous  aptitude  for  the  acquisi- 
tion of  languages.  His  attainments  were  so 
great  that  he  was  employed  by  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society  in  editing  the  books  they 
published  in  many  tongues.  Mr.  Greenfield 
also  edited  Bagster's  Comprehensive  Bible, 
which  was  printed  in  England  in  1827,  and 
reprinted  in  Philadelphia  in  1854,  his  brilliant 
career  being  cut  short  by  death  at  the  age  of 
thirty-two. 


118  EARLY  BIBLES. 

In  1842  Dr.  Edward  Robinson  edited  a  Greek 
Testament  in  which  he  follows  the  text  and 
annotations  of  Professor  Hahn.  The  book  is 
a  12mo,  issued  by  Leavitt  &  Trow,  New  York, 
other  editions  appearing  in  1845. 

In  later  years  many  editions  of  the  Greek 
Testament  have  been  issued  by  leading  publish- 
ers in  the  United  States,  but  it  does  not  fall 
within  the  province  of  this  book  to  speak  of 
these  recent  volumes.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that 
fifty-two  editions  of  the  whole  New  Testament 
in  Greek  were  printed  during  the  first  half  of 
this  century,  some  in  Greek  alone,  some  in 
both  Greek  and  English,  or  Greek  and  Latin, 
besides  several  editions  of  parts  of  the  New 
Testament.  The  first  copy  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment in  modern  Greek,  printed  in  America, 
was  published  by  the  American  Bible  Society 
in  1833. 


VARIOUS    EDITIONS. 


THE  first  proposal  to  print  the  Bible  in 
English  in  America  was  made  in  1688  by 
William  Bradford  of  Philadelphia.  The  pub- 
lication that  announced  this  intention  was 
worded  as  follows  :  — 

"  These  are  to  give  Notice,  that  it  is  proposed  for  a  large 
house-Bible  to  be  Printed  by  way  of  Subscriptions,  [a 
method  usual  in  England  for  the  Printing  of  large  Volumns, 
because  Printing  is  very  chargeable]  therefore  to  all  that  are 
willing  to  forward  so  good  (and  great)  a  Work,  as  the 
Printing  of  the  holy  Bible,  are  offered  these  Proposals,  viz. : 
I.  That  It  shall  be  printed  in  a  fair  Character,  on  good  Paper, 
and  well  bound.  2.  That  it  shall  contain  the  Old  and  New 
Testament,  with  the  Apocraphy,  and  all  to  have  useful 
Marginal  Notes.  3.  That  it  shall  be  allowed  (to  them  that 
subscribe)  for  Twenty  Shillings  per  Bible :  [A  Price  which 
one  of  the  same  volumn  in  England  would  cost].  4.  That 
the  pay  shall  be  half  Silver  Money,  and  half  Country  Pro- 
duce at  Money  price.  One  half  down  now,  and  the  other 
half  on  the  delivery  of  the  Bibles.  .  .  .  Also,  this  may  further 
give  notice  that  Samuell  Richardson  and  Samuell  Carpenter 

119 


120  EARLY  BIBLES. 

of  Philadelphia,  are  appointed  to  take  care  and  be  assistant 
in  the  laying  out  of  the  Subscription  Money,  and  to  see  that 
it  be  imploy'd  to  the  use  intended,  and  consequently 
that  the  whole  Work  be  expedited.  Which  is  promised  by 

"WILLIAM  BBADFORD. 
"  PHILADELPHIA,  the  14th  of 
the  1st  Month,  1688." 

Although  this  early  effort  began  and  ended 
with  the  Proposal,  Philadelphia  has  been  for 
many  years  a  centre  of  activity  and  enterprise 
in  the  publication  of  many  important  editions 
of  the  Bible. 

After  great  persistence,  Robert  Aitken  suc- 
ceeded in  publishing  his  Bible  of  1782,  the 
first  bearing  an  American  imprint.  After  his 
death  in  1802,  his  business  was  continued  by 
his  daughter,  Jane  Aitken,  who  seems  to  have 
inherited  the  energy  of  her  father.  She  sus- 
tained the  printing  art  through  a  number  of 
years,  and  with  acknowledged  success.  Thomas 
says,  "  She  obtained  much  reputation  by  the 
productions  which  issued  from  her  press." 

One  of  the  most  familiar  names  seen  upon 
the  title-pages  of  Philadelphia  Bibles  is  that  of 


VARIOUS  EDITIONS.  121 

Matthew  Carey.  He  published  not  only  editions 
of  the  Bible  after  the  Latin  Vulgate,  but  many 
quarto  and  duodecimo  Bibles  according  to  the 
King  James  translation.  In  the  early  days  of 
his  publishing  career  his  work  was  attended 
with  numerous  risks  and  responsibilities.  In 
the  Preface  to  his  Bible  of  1801,  he  says :  — 

"  I  present  this  edition  of  the  Bible  to  the  public,  with  a 
degree  of  solicitude  proportioned  to  the  magnitude  of  the 
undertaking.  Having  embarked  therein  a  large  property, 
and  devoted  my  utmost  care  and  attention  to  it,  from  its 
commencement  to  its  completion,  I  find  it  impossible  to 
assume  that  degree  of  stoicism  necessary  to  regard  with 
indifference  its  reception  by  my  fellow-citizens." 

As  the  years  rolled  on  his  business  prospered, 
and  ultimately  assumed  extensive  proportions. 
Bible  after  Bible  issued  from  his  presses,  and 
many  of  the  editions  were  embellished  with 
engravings  executed  in  the  best  style  of  the 
day. 

Another  name  well  known  in  the  same  locality 
was  that  of  William  Young.  His  first  Bible 
was  published  in  1790  and  was  a  12mo  in  size. 
It  was  advertised  as  a  school  edition,  and  the 


122  EARLY  BIBLES. 

price  was  named  as  "  five-eighths  of  a  dollar." 
It  had  this  imprint:  "Printed  by  W.  Young, 
Bookseller  and  Stationer,  the  corner  of  Second 
and  Chestnut  Streets."  He  published  another 
edition  of  the  Bible  in  1791,  and  a  third  in  1792. 
Copies  of  the  New  Testament  appeared  from  his 
press  in  1791,  1792,  1802,  and  1808. 

Berriman  &  Co.  were  early  publishers  in 
Philadelphia.  They  issued  a  folio  Bible  in 
1796.  It  was  supplied  with  marginal  references, 
and  had  a  list  of  subscribers.  It  contained  eigh- 
teen engravings.  Some  time  later  they  pub- 
lished another  folio,  but  no  date  was  placed 
upon  the  title-page.  The  later  book  was  with- 
out engravings. 

The  first  hot-pressed  edition  of  the  Bible  in 
America  was  published  in  1798.  It  contained 
a  patriotic  device  on  the  title-page,  in  which 
the  Bible  is  encircled  with  fifteen  stars,  and 
supported  by  the  American  eagle.  The  imprint 
is  as  follows :  "  Printed  for  John  Thompson  and 
Abraham  Small,  from  the  Hot-press  of  John 
Thompson."  This  Bible  follows  the  text  of 


VARIOUS  EDITIONS.  123 

the  Cambridge  edition  of  Baskerville.  The 
book  was  published  by  subscription,  and  went 
through  forty  numbers  before  it  was  completed. 
It  contained  the  Apocrypha,  which  is  printed 
throughout  in  italics.  The  price  to  sub- 
scribers, counting  each  number  at  fifty  cents, 
was  twenty  dollars.  The  book  in  size  is  a 
folio. 

Kimber,  Conrad  &  Co.  93  Market  Street, 
later  Kimber  &  Sharpless,  were  extensive  pub- 
lishers of  Bibles.  Their  first  Bible  was  printed 
in  1807,  and  was  liberally  supplied  with  Canne's 
notes.  In  1823  a  quarto  Bible  was  published, 
which  they  continued  to  reissue  for  twenty-one 
years,  when  the  plates  were  sold  to  Jasper 
Harding.  Their  first  edition  of  the  Bible  in 
German  appeared  in  1827,  and  its  publication 
was  continued  through  nearly  a  quarter  of  a 
century. 

Solomon  Wiatt,  368  North  Second  Street, 
published  in  1809  a  12mo  New  Testament, 
which  was  paid  for  by  the  gift  of  f  1,000  left 
in  the  will  of  Mr.  John  Hancock  of  Burlington, 


124  EARLY  BIBLES. 

New  Jersey.  The  book  was  designed  for  free 
distribution  among  the  poor. 

The  first  Hebrew  Bible  published  in  the 
United  States  came  from  the  press  of  Thomas 
Dobson  of  Philadelphia  in  1814. 

Eugene  Cummiskey,  in  the  same  city,  was  a 
diligent  publisher  of  editions  of  the  Bible  trans- 
lated from  the  Latin  Vulgate.  His  first  publica- 
tion was  a  Bible  in  folio  in  1825.  It  was  well 
printed  and  illustrated,  and  commanded  a  high 
price.  In  the  same  year  he  published  a  Bible 
in  quarto.  He  was  in  business  for  over  thirty 
years,  and  many  editions  of  Bibles  and  Testa- 
ments issued  from  his  busy  presses. 

Hall  &  Sellers  published  in  1815  an  edition 
of  the  New  Testament.  This  is  a  very  rare 
book,  and  only  three  or  four  copies  are  known 
to  be  extant.  This  firm  were  also  the  printers 
in  1786  of  the  "  Proposed  Book  of  Common 
Prayer."  Bishop  Perry  says,  "Few  persons 
have  seen  this  remarkable  liturgical  production ; 
and  without  any  discussions  of  the  principles 
involved  in  its  publication,  the  bibliographical 


VARIOUS  EDITIONS.  125 

fact  may  be  stated,  that  a  rarer  book  connected 
with  American  church  history  can  hardly  be 
named."  l 

The  Collateral  Bible,  in  which  the  parallel 
passages  were  printed  in  full,  appeared  in  1826, 
Harding  being  the  printer.  The  Bible  was 
edited  by  Rev.  Dr.  Ely,  a  Presbyterian  minister, 
and  Rev.  G.  T.  Bedell,  afterwards  the  Bishop 
of  Ohio.  The  book  did  not  get  beyond  one 
edition. 

A  Bible  bearing  the  following  imprint: 
"  Philadelphia :  Published  and  sold  by  Isaac  M. 
Moss,  No.  12  South  Fourth  Street,"  is  of  in- 
terest to  collectors,  as  it  contains  twenty  full- 
page  illustrations  by  Dr.  Alexander  Anderson, 
the  first  wood  engraver  of  the  United  States. 
No  date  is  on  either  of  the  title-pages.  It  has 
been  conjectured  that  the  year  of  publication 
was  about  1844.  Strangely  enough,  the  pub- 
lisher was  a  Jew.  O'Callaghan  does  not  men- 
tion this  Bible.' 

1  Journal  of  General  Convention  by  Rt.  Rev.  William 
Stevens  Perry,  D.D.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  125. 


126  EARLY  BIBLES. 

New  York  has  also  contributed  through  its 
publishers  many  and  valuable  editions  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures.  The  first  copy  of  the  New 
Testament  came  from  the  press  of  Hugh  Gaine, 
in  1790.  Proposals  for  printing  the  Bible  were 
circulated  the  same  year.  It  was  designated  as 
"  Brown's  Self-instructing  Folio  Family  Bible." 
It  was  to  be  printed  "  on  fine  paper,  American 
manufacture,  and  on  an  excellent,  large  new 
type,  cast  on  purpose  for  this  work."  It  was 
to  be  issued  in  forty  numbers,  and  a  number 
was  to  be  delivered  every  two  weeks  at  twenty- 
five  cents  each.  The  first  number  was  to  be 
.offered  for  examination,  and  it  was  agreed  "  if 
it  should  not  meet  with  the  approbation  of  the 
reader,  the  money  shall  be  immediately  re- 
turned." It  was  also  agreed  that  those  who  se- 
cured subscriptions  to  the  Bible  "  shall  receive 
one  copy  gratis  for  every  twelve  they  may  ob- 
tain." The  numbers  appeared  from  time  to 
time  through  two  years,  until  the  Bible  was 
completed  in  1792.  The  publishers  were  Hodge 
&  Campbell.  As  the  title-page  indicates,  the 


VARIOUS  EDITIONS.  127 

book  is  supplied  with  explanatory  notes  and  re- 
flections "by  the  late  Reverend  John  Brown, 
Minister  of  the  Gospel  at  Haddington."  There 
is  a  frontispiece  at  the  head  of  the  volume, 
and  another  before  the  New  Testament.  There 
are  also  eighteen  copper-plate  engravings  of 
scenes  from  Scripture.  Heading  the  printed  list 
of  subscribers  is  the  name  of  George  Washing- 
ton. 

The  same  year  Hodge  &  Campbell  printed 
a  quarto  edition  of  the  Bible  which  received 
the  indorsement  of  the  State  Legislature  by  a 
vote  passed  March  18,  1790. 

Ezra  Sargent,  86  Broadway,  published  in  1811 
a  quarto  edition  of  the  Bible,  "  with  a  Commen- 
tary and  critical  Notes,  designed  as  a  help  to 
the  better  understanding  of  the  Sacred  Writ- 
ings, by  Adam  Clarke,  LL.D."  Bibles  with 
Clarke's  notes  multiplied  in  later  years,  but 
this  was  the  first  edition  that  appeared  in  the 
United  States. 

The  first  Bible  printed  in  this  country  from 
stereotype  plates  cast  in  the  United  States, 


128  EARLY  BIBLES. 

came  from  the  press  of  D.  &  G.  Bruce,  No.  27 
Williams  Street,  in  1815. 

Isaac  Collins  was  succeeded  in  his  business 
in  New  York  by  Collins  &  Co.  They  printed 
a  Bible  in  quarto  in  1814,  and  their  first 
stereotyped  edition  in  1816.  During  many 
years  various  impressions  of  the  Bible  and 
New  Testament  have  been  printed,  and  the 
Collins  family  are  still  in  the  publishing  busi- 
ness after  the  lapse  of  more  than  a  hundred 
years. 

The  New  York  Bible  and  Common  Prayer 
Book  Society  was  organized  in  1809,  and 
was  the  first  institution  in  this  country,  with 
the  exception  of  the  Bible  Society  of  Phila- 
delphia, for  the  free  distribution  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. Many  missionary  fields  and  destitute 
parishes  have  received  the  benefit  of  its  pub- 
lications. 

The  American  Bible  Society  was  founded 
in  1816,  and  has  branches  in  nearly  all  the 
States.  It  has  gathered  a  valuable  Biblical 
library  of  over  3,500  volumes  in  more  than 


VARIOUS  EDITIONS.  129 

one  hundred  and  fifty  different  languages  and 
dialects.  Since  the  beginning  of  the  century 
it  has  published  more  than  forty  millions  of 
copies  of  the  New  Testament,  the  Bible  and 
portions  of  it. 

The  American  and  Foreign  Bible  Society 
was  organized  in  1837,  by  members  of  the 
Baptist  denomination.  In  1838  it  issued  an 
octavo  edition  of  the  Bible.  It  was  a  reprint 
of  an  Oxford  Bible  of  1833.  The  New  Testa- 
ment in  duodecimo  was  also  printed  in  1838. 
This  society  for  a  number  of  years  issued  edi- 
tions of  the  Scriptures,  and  assisted  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Judson  of  India  in  publishing  a  Bible  in 
the  Burmese  language. 

In  1865  the  American  Bible  Union,  also  a 
Baptist  organization,  published  a  revised  edition 
of  the  New  Testament.  While  there  are  several 
hundred  emendations,  they  refer  mostly  to  small 
words,  such  as  the  use  of  "says"  for  "saith." 
The  principal  and  most  decided  changes  in 
the  translation  consist  in  the  substitution  of 
"immerse"  for  baptize,"  and  "immersing"  for 


130  EARLY  BIBLES. 

"  washing."    The  following  quotations  will  show 
the  nature  of  the  revision :  — 

St.  Mark  vii.  3.  "  For  the  Pharisees,  and  all  the  Jews, 
unless  they  wash  their  hands  diligently,  do  not  eat,  holding 
the  tradition  of  the  elders ; 

4.  And  coming  from  the  market,  unless  they  immerse 
themselves  they  do  not  eat;  and  there  are  many  other  things 
which  they  received  to  hold,  immersions  of  cups,  and  pots, 
and  brazen  vessels,  and  couches." 

St.  John,  i.  25.  "  And  they  asked  him,  and  said  to  him, 
Why  then  dost  thou  immerse,  if  thou  art  not  the  Christ, 
nor  Elijah,  nor  the  Prophet? 

26.  John  answered  them,  saying,  I  immerse  in  water. 

28.  These  things  took  place  in  Bethany  beyond  the 
Jordan,  where  John  was  immersing. 

32.  And  John  testified,  saying,  I  have  beheld  the  Spirit 
descending  as  a  dove  out  of  heaven,  and  it  abode  upon 
him. 

33.  And  I  knew  him  not;  but  he  who  sent  me  to  im- 
merse in  water,  he  said  to  me,  Upon  whomsoever  thou  shalt 
see  the  Spirit  descending,  and  abiding  on  him,  this  is  he  who 
immerses  in  the  Holy  Spirit." 

St.  John  iii.  22.  "  After  these  things  came  Jesus  and  his 
disciples  into  the  land  of  Judea;  and  there  he  remained 
with  them  and  immersed. 

23.  And  John  also  was  immersing  in  ^Enon  near  Salim 
because  there  was  much  water  there  ;  and  they  came  and 
were  immersed." 

This  version  of  the  New  Testament  is  not  as 


VARIOUS  EDITIONS.  131 

a  rule  read  in  public  services,  but  is  used  as 
a  book  of  reference.  There  is  a  difference  of 
opinion  among  Baptists  regarding  it,  and  one 
edition  is  printed  with  the  word  "  immerse," 
and  another  with  the  word  "baptize." 

The  first  Bible  printed  in  the  United  States 
from  electrotyped  plates  came  from  the  publish- 
ing-house of  Harper  &  Brothers  in  1846.  It 
contained  1,600  illustrations,  and  was  called  the 
Illuminated  Bible. 

Boston  also  contributed  early  issues  of  the 
Bible.  B.  Green  published  the  Gospel  of  St. 
John  in  Indian  and  English  in  1707  and  1709. 
Portions  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  were 
printed  by  S.  Kneeland  in  1718.  "The  New 
Hieroglyphical  Bible  for  the  amusement  and 
instruction  of  children"  came  from  the  press 
of  "W.  Norman,  Book  and  Chart  Seller,"  in 
1794. 

An  edition  of  the  New  Testament  appeared 
in  the  same  year  by  Alexander  Young  and 
Thomas  Minns.  Thomas  &  Andrews  issued  a 
12mo  Bible  in  1801,  and  repeated  it  a  number 
of  times  in  after  years. 


132  EARLY  BIBLES. 

The  first  copy  of  the  New  Testament  in 
French,  published  in  the  United  States,  came 
from  the  house  of  J.  T.  Buckingham  of  Boston 
in  1810. 

In  1834,  in  the  same  city,  Rufus  Davenport 
printed  a  Bible  which  has  these  words  on  the 
title-page :  — 

"The  Right- Aim  School  Bible;  comprising  the  Holy 
Bible  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  and  an  Annexment 
containing  the  Free-Debt-Rule  Petitions,  addressed,  the 
first  to  the  Twenty-four  States,  the  Second,  to  the  Con- 
gress, the  Third  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  and  affixed  Memorials;  the  Fourth  Petition  to 
three  High  Officers  of  the  Government  of  England.  Also 
the  Declaration  of  Free-debtism." 

In  1834  Manson  &  Grant  published  a  Para- 
graph Bible  which  was  edited  by  Rev.  Dr.  Coit, 
then  Rector  of  Christ  Church,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
The  title-page  indicates  the  nature  of  the  work, 
for  it  states  that  the  passages  of  Scripture 
are  "arranged  in  Paragraphs  and  Parallelisms 
with  philological  and  explanatory  Annotations." 
The  verbal  difficulties  are  explained,  and  chro- 
nology noted  in  the  margins.  The  New  Testa- 


VARIOUS  EDITIONS.  133 

ment  went  through  several  editions,  and  the 
whole  work  was  reprinted  in  England  in  1838. 
This  Bible  is  of  interest  from  the  fact  that  it 
was  the  first  Bible  printed  in  America  that  con- 
tained "The  Address  of  the  Translators  to  the 
Reader"  as  it  appeared  in  the  King  James  ver- 
sion of  1611. 

Dr.  Coit  says  in  his  Preface,  "Another  ac- 
companiment of  King  James's  Bible  was  the 
Translators'  Preface,  or  their  Address  to  the 
Reader.  How  this  has  fallen  into  such  desue- 
tude and  neglect  as  to  be  scarce  even  in  Eng- 
land, while  the  Dedication,  which  wants  in 
critical  value  as  much  as  it  abounds  in  pane- 
gyric, has  been  printed  hundreds  of  times  by 
king-disliking  republicans,  it  is  not  easy  to 
conjecture.  For,  as  a  document  gratifying  to 
the  curious,  it  might  be  supposed  worthy  no 
infrequent  repetition,  and  as  a  document  for 
the  ecclesiastical  historian  and  the  critic,  it  is 
of  a  species  the  foremost  in  value.  What  exi- 
gencies occasioned  the  translation  in  use  ?  How 
and  by  whom  was  it  attempted  and  superin- 


134  EARLY  BIBLES. 

tended?  What  leading  objects  were  kept  in 
view  in  the  completion  of  the  work  ?  By  what 
spirit  were  its  authors  prompted  ?  Under  what 
rules  did  they  act,  and  what  objections  were 
raised  against  their  labors?  These,  and  ques- 
tions akin  to  them,  are  full  of  moment  to  all 
who  wish  to  ascertain  what  gave  our  present 
Bible  its  origin,  and  the  standard  for  testing 
its  merits."  Further,  Dr.  Coit  says,  "The 
editor  must  enjoy  a  few  grains  of  satisfaction, 
even  if  with  many  his  labors  are  thankless,  in 
being  the  first  to  offer  his  countrymen  a  Bible 
which,  in  some  respects,  is  nearer  the  book 
issued  by  our  translators,  than  any  ever  pub- 
lished on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  Indeed, 
though  he  has  seen  many  American  Bibles,  it 
has  never  yet  been  his  fortune  to  meet  with  one 
(except  the  late  imperfect  reprint  of  the  Com- 
prehensive Bible)  containing  the  Translators' 
Address,  with  all  their  various  readings." 

In  1837  Otis  Clapp,  No.  121  Washington 
Street,  published  a  12mo  Bible  which  con- 
tained solely  those  books  of  Scripture  that 


VARIOUS  EDITIONS.  135 

Swedenborg  regarded  as  containing  what  he 
called  "an  internal  sense." 

The  first  copy  of  the  New  Testament  printed 
in  Delaware  was  issued  by  Peter  Brynberg  in 
1802. 

The  first  New  Testament  in  Connecticut 
bore  the  imprint  of  A.  Morse,  New  Haven, 
1790. 

The  first  Bible  in  the  same  State  was  printed 
at  Hartford  in  1809,  by  Hudson  &  Goodwin. 
In  1833  Durrie  &  Peck  of  New  Haven  pub- 
lished a  Bible  "  with  amendments  of  the  lan- 
guage "  by  Noah  Webster,  LL.D.  In  the 
Preface  three  reasons  are  given  for  undertak- 
ing the  revision.  In  substance,  these  are  first, 
the  substitution  of  certain  words  in  place  of 
"  such  as  are  wholly  obsolete,  or  deemed  below 
the  dignity  and  solemnity  of  the  subject ; "  sec- 
ond, "the  correction  of  errors  in  grammar;"  and 
third,  "  the  insertion  of  euphemisms,  words  and 
phrases  which  are  not  very  offensive  to  delicacy." 
The  amended  Bible  reached  a  second  edition  in 
1841,  but  has  not  been  repeated  since.  There 


136  EARLY  BIBLES. 

were  editions  of  the  New  Testament  in  1839 
and  1841.  The  revision  did  not  meet  with  the 
favor  that  Dr.  Webster  had  anticipated,  and 
was  as  signal  a  failure  as  his  Dictionary  was 
a  success.  Mr.  Scudder  says  of  the  revision 
that  it  was  "sufficient  to  annoy  those  who 
had  an  ear  for  the  old  version,  and  really  offer- 
ing only  such  positive  helps  in  interpretation 
as  were  generally  in  the  possession  of  fairly 
educated  men.  That  he  should  have  done  the 
work  at  all,  and  have  done  it  so  faintly,  is  what 
surprises  the  reader." 1  Further  Mr.  Scudder 
says  of  Dr.  Webster,  "  he  was  ignorant  of  what 
he  was  undertaking,  and  his  independent  revis- 
ion of  the  Bible  failed  to  win  attention,  not  be- 
cause it  was  audacious,  but  because  it  was  not 
bold  enough ;  it  offered  no  real  contribution  to 
Biblical  criticism." 

The  American  Publishing  Company  of  Hart- 
ford issued  in  1876  a  translation  of  the  Bible 
made  by  Miss  Julia  E.  Smith  of  Glastonbury, 


1  Horace  E.  Scudder's  Biography  of  Noah  Webster,  pp.  176, 
177. 


VARIOUS  EDITIONS.  137 

Conn.  She  learned  the  Hebrew,  but  had  previ- 
ously a  knowledge  of  the  Greek  and  Latin.  She 
was  seven  years  making  the  translation,  having 
attempted  it  at  first  for  her  own  satisfaction  and 
instruction,  and  without  any  thought  of  publi- 
cation. She  says,  "  I  continued  my  labors  and 
wrote  out  the  Bible  five  times,  twice  from  the 
Greek,  twice  from  the  Hebrew,  and  once  from 
the  Latin — the  Vulgate."  While  this  transla- 
tion has  had  but  little  if  any  effect  upon  sacred 
literature,  the  persistency,  patience,  and  study 
which  resulted  in  the  acquisition  of  the  ancient 
languages  of  Scripture  must  be  commended. 
The  rendering  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  this 
version  is  as  follows :  — 


St.  Matthew  vi.  9.    "Therefore  so  do  ye  pray  :  Our  Fa- 
ther which  in  the  heavens,  Let  thy  name  be  declared  holy. 

10.  Let  thy  kingdom  come.    Let  thy  will  be  as  in  heaven 
also  upon  the  earth. 

11.  Give  us  this  day  our  bread  sufficient  for  sustenance. 

12.  And  let  go  to  us  ourdebts,  as  we  let  go  to  our  debtors. 

13.  And  thou  shouldst  not  lead  us  into  temptation,  but 
deliver  us  from  evil.    For  thine  is  the  kingdom,  and  the 
power,  and  the  glory,  forever.    Amen." 


138  EARLY  BIBLES. 

In  the  colonial  times,  and  the  early  days  of 
the  American  States,  there  were  notable  edi- 
tions of  the  Bible  and  New  Testament  printed 
in  small  towns,  and  especially  in  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania.  Ephrata  in  Lancaster  County 
was  settled  in  1733  by  German  Baptists.  They 
devoted  themselves  to  printing  with  industry 
and  enterprise,  and  published  books  and  news- 
papers in  their  own  tongue.  The  noted  Martyr 
Books  and  editions  of  the  New  Testament  were 
printed  on  excellent  paper  made  in  the  town. 
An  edition  of  the  New  Testament  in  German 
appeared  at  this  place  in  1787,  and  was  probably 
the  first  edition.  It  is  printed  in  bold,  clear- 
faced  type,  and  is  a  most  admirable  example  of 
early  book-making.  It  is  greatly  prized  by  col- 
lectors and  brings  a  high  price.  The  title-page 
does  not  contain  the  name  of  any  printer,  but 
there  is  a  note  at  the  end  of  the  Book  of  Reve- 
lation which  explains  that  the  work  was  done 
by  the  Bunker  Community.  The  note  reads : 
"N.  B.  Formerly  printed  several  times,  at 
Zurich,  Basle,  and  Frankfort  and  Leipsic ;  now 


VARIOUS  EDITIONS.  139 

however,  at  Ephrata,  at  the  expense  of  the  Breth- 
ren, in  the  year  1787."  At  the  end  of  the  book 
are  "  Four  beautiful  spiritual  hymns."  A  16mo 
edition  of  the  Psalms  was  printed  in  1793. 
O'Callaghan  makes  no  reference  to  the  pub- 
lications at  Ephrata,  which  is  a  remarkable 
omission. 

Michael  Billmeyer  was  an  industrious  printer 
of  New  Testaments  at  Germantown  through  a 
number  of  years.  His  German  Testaments  bear 
the  following  dates:  1787,  1795,  1803,  1807, 
1808,  1810,  1815,  1819,  and  1822.  He  also 
published  a  12mo  edition  of  the  Psalms  in 
1815  and  again  in  1828.  In  1824  Moser  & 
Peters  of  Carlisle  issued  a  German  New  Testa- 
ment illustrated  with  twelve  rude  wood-cuts. 

In  1819  Johann  Bar  published  at  Lancaster 
a  German  Bible  in  folio.  The  Old  Testament 
has  a  frontispiece  representing  Moses  with  the 
Tables  of  the  Law,  and  the  New  Testament 
another  frontispiece,  being  an  engraving  of  the 
Adoration  of  the  Shepherds.  This  was  probably 
the  first  folio  edition  of  the  Bible  in  German 
printed  in  the  United  States. 


140  EARLY  BIBLES. 

Small  towns  in  other  parts  of  the  Union  have 
multiplied  editions  of  the  Scriptures. 

Merriam  &  Company  published  in  1815  at 
Brookfield,  Mass.,  an  edition  of  the  Bible  of 
12,000  copies.  H.  &  E.  Phinney  of  Coopers- 
town,  N.Y.,  published  their  first  edition  of  the 
Bible  in  1822.  Their  work  was  well  and  care- 
fully done,  and  for  over  twenty-five  years  edi- 
tion followed  edition,  and  their  imprint  became 
familiar  to  Bible  readers. 

As  we  have  been  dealing  with  early  versions 
and  editions,  this  is  not  the  place  to  speak  of 
the  magnificent  editions  of  the  Bible  issued  by 
the  great  publishing  houses  of  our  day,  with 
their  splendid  facilities  for  printing  and  illus- 
trating. While  many  of  the  early  Bibles  were 
rude  and  unadorned,  we  must  respect  them,  for 
they  represent  conscientious  work  and  the  best 
art  of  their  time. 

In  the  consideration  of  our  subject  no  attempt 
has  been  made  to  be  inclusive,  as  the  theme  is 
so  large  that  only  leading  editions  of  the  Bible 
could  be  noticed.  O'Callaghan  numbers  the 


VARIOUS  EDITIONS.  141 

titles  of  Bibles  or  portions  thereof,  published  in 
America  from  1661  to  1860,  at  fifteen  hundred. 
Such  facts  are  evidences  of  the  enduring  hold 
that  the  Book  of  books  has  upon  the  heart  of 
man. 


APPENDICES. 


APPENDIX  A. 

DEDICATION   IN   THE   ELIOT   NEW   TESTAMENT 
OF    1661. 

To  the  High  and  Mighty  Prince,  Charles  the 
Second,  by  the  G-race  of  Grod,  King  of  Eng- 
land, Scotland,  France  and  Ireland,  Defender 
of  the  Faith,  £c. 

The  Commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies 
in  New  England,  wish  increase  of  all  happi- 
ness, &c. 

Most  Dread  Soveraign,  —  If  our  weak  appre- 
hensions have  not  misled  us,  this  Work  will  be 
no  unacceptable  Present  to  Your  Majesty,  as 
having  a  greater  Interest  therein,  than  we  be- 
lieve is  generally  understood :  which  (upon  this 
Occasion)  we  conceive  it  our  duty  to  declare. 

The  People  of  these  four  Colonies  (Confed- 
erated for  Mutual  Defence,  in  the  time  of  the 
late  Distractions  of  our  dear  Native  Country) 
143 


144  EARLY  BIBLES. 

Your  Majesties  natural  born  Subjects,  by  the 
Favour  and  Grant  of  Your  Royal  Father  and 
Grandfather  of  Famous  Memory,  put  themselves 
upon  this  great  and  hazardous  Undertaking,  of 
Planting  themselves  at  their  own  Charge  in 
these  remote  ends  of  the  Earth,  that  without 
offence  or  provocation  to  our  dear  Brethren  and 
Countrymen,  we  might  enjoy  that  kberty  to 
Worship  God,  which  our  own  Consciences  in- 
formed us,  was  not  onely  our  Right,  but  Duty: 
As  also  that  we  might  (if  it  so  pleased  God)  be 
instrumental  to  spread  the  light  of  the  Gospel, 
the  knowledg  of  the  Son  of  God  our  Saviour, 
to  the  poor  barbarous  Heathen,  which  by  His 
late  Majesty,  in  some  of  our  Patents,  is  declared 
to  be  His  principal  aim. 

These  honest  and  Pious  Intentions,  have, 
through  the  grace  and  goodness  of  God  and  our 
Kings,  been  seconded  with  proportionable  suc- 
cess :  for,  omitting  the  Immunities  indulged  us 
by  Your  Highness  Royal  Predecessors,  we  have 
been  greatly  encouraged  by  Your  Majesties 
gracious  expressions  of  Favour  and  Approba- 


APPENDICES.  145 

tion  signified,  unto  the  Address  made  by  the 
principal  of  our  Colonies,  to  which  the  rest  do 
most  cordially  Subscribe,  though  wanting  the 
like  seasonable  opportunity,  they  have  been 
(till  now)  deprived  of  the  means  to  Congratu- 
late your  Majesties  happy  Restitution,  after 
Your  long  suffering,  which  we  implore  may  yet 
be  graciously  accepted,  that  we  may  be  equal 
partakers  of  Your  Royal  Favour  and  Modera- 
tion; which  hath  been  so  Illustrious  that  (to 
admiration)  the  animosities  and  different  Per- 
swasions  of  men  have  been  so  soon  Composed, 
and  so  much  cause  of  hope,  that  (unless  the 
signs  of  the  nation  prevent)  a  blessed  calm  will 
succeed  the  late  horrid  Confusions  of  Church 
and  State.  And  shall  not  we  (Dread  Soveraigri) 
your  Subjects  of  these  Colonies,  of  the  same 
Faith  and  Belief  in  all  Points  of  Doctrine  with 
our  Countrymen,  and  the  other  Reformed 
Churches,  (though  perhaps  not  all  alike  per- 
swaded  in  some  matters  of  Order,  which  in  out- 
ward respects  hath  been  unhappy  for  us)  prom- 
ise and  assure  ourselves  of  all  just  favour  and 


146  EARLY  BIBLES. 

indulgence  from  a  Prince  so  happily  and  gra- 
ciously endowed  ? 

The  other  part  of  our  Errand  hither,  hath 
been  attended  with  Endevours  and  Blessing ; 
many  of  the  wilde  Indians  being  taught,  and 
understanding  the  Doctrine  of  the  Christian 
Religion,  and  with  much  affection  attending 
such  Preachers  as  are  sent  to  teach  them,  many 
of  their  Children  are  instructed  to  Write  and 
Reade,  and  some  of  them  have  proceeded  fur- 
ther, to  attain  the  knowledge  of  the  Latine  and 
Greek  Tongues,  and  are  brought  up  with  our 
English  youth  in  University-learning:  There 
are  divers  of  them  that  can  and  do  reade  some 
parts  of  the  Scripture,  and  some  Catechisms, 
which  formerly  have  been  Translated  into  their 
own  Language,  which  hath  occasioned  the 
undertaking  of  a  greater  Work,  viz :  The 
Printing  of  the  whole  Bible,  which  (being 
Translated  by  a  painful  Labourer  amongst  them, 
who  was  desirous  to  see  the  Work  accomplished 
in  his  dayes)  hath  already  proceeded  to  the  fin- 
ishing of  the  New  Testament,  which  we  here 


APPENDICES.  147 

humbly  present  to  Your  Majesty,  as  the  first 
fruits  and  accomplishment  of  the  Pious  Design 
of  your  Royal  Ancestors.  The  Old  Testament 
is  now  under  the  Press,  wanting  and  craving 
your  Royal  Favour  and  Assistance  for  the  per- 
fecting thereof. 

We  may  not  conceal,  that  though  this  Work 
hath  been  begun  and  prosecuted  by  such  Instru- 
ments as  God  hath  raised  up  here,  yet  the  chief 
Charge  and  Cost,  which  hath  supported  and 
carried  it  thus  far,  hath  been  from  the  Charity 
and  Piety  of  divers  of  our  well-affected  Coun- 
trymen in  England  ;  who  being  sensible  of  our 
inability  in  that  respect,  and  studious  to  pro- 
mote so  good  a  Work,  contributed  large  Sums 
of  Money,  which  were  to  be  improved  according 
to  the  Direction  and  Order  of  the  then  prevail- 
ing Powers,  which  hath  been  faithfully  and  reli- 
giously attended  both  there  and  here,  according 
to  the  pious  intentions  of  the  Benefactors.  And 
we  do  most  humbly  beseech  your  Majesty,  that 
a  matter  of  so  much  Devotion  and  Piety,  tend- 
ing so  much  to  the  Honour  of  God,  may  suffer 


148  EARLY  BIBLES. 

no  disappointment  through  any  Legal  defect 
(without  the  fault  of  the  Donors,  or  the  poor 
Indians,  who  onely  receive  the  benefit)  but  that 
your  Majesty  be  graciously  pleased  to  Establish 
and  Confirm  the  same,  being  contrived  and  done 
(as  we  conceive)  in  the  first  year  of  your  Majes- 
ties Reign,  as  this  Book  was  begun  and  now  fin- 
ished in  the  first  year  of  your  Establishment ; 
which  doth  not  onely  presage  the  happy  success 
of  your  Highness  Government,  but  will  be  a 
perpetual  monument,  that  by  your  Majesties 
Favour  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ,  was  first  made  known  to  the  Indi- 
ans :  An  Honour  whereof  (we  are  assured) 
your  Majesty  will  not  a  little  esteem. 

Sir,  The  shines  of  Your  Royal  Favour  upon 
these  Vndertakings,  will  make  these  tender  Plants 
to  flourish,  notwithstanding  any  malevolent 
Aspect  from  those  that  bear  evil  will  to  this  Sion, 
and  render  Your  Majesty  more  Illustrious  and 
Glorious  to  after  Generations. 
The  G-od  of  Heaven  long  preserve  and  blest 

Your  Majesty  with  many  happy  Dayes,  to  his 

Glory,  the  good  and  comfort  of  his  Church  and 

People.     Amen. 


APPENDICES.  149 

APPENDIX  B. 

DEDICATION    IN    THE    ELIOT    BIBLE    OF    1663. 

To  the  High  and  Mighty  Prince,  Charles  the 
Second,  by  the  Grace  of  G-od,  King  of  Eng- 
land, Scotland,  France  and  Ireland,  Defender 
of  the  Faith,  £c. 

The  Commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies  in 
New-England,  wish  all  happiness,  &c. 

MOST  DKEAD  SOVERAIGN,  —  As  our  former 
Presentation  of  the  New  Testament  was  Gra- 
ciously Accepted  by  Your  Majesty ;  so  with  all 
Humble  Thankfulness  for  that  Royal  Favour, 
and  with  the  like  hope,  We  are  bold  now  to 
Present  the  WHOLE  BIBLE,  Translated  into 
the  Language  of  the  Natives  of  this  Country, 
by  A  Painful  Labourer  in  that  Work,  and  now 
Printed  and  Finished,  by  means  of  the  Pious 
Beneficence  of  Your  Majesties  Subjects  in  Eng- 
land: which  also  by  Your  Special  Favour  have 
been  Continued  and  Confirmed  to  the  intended 
Use  and  Advancement  of  so  Great  and  Good  a 
Work,  as  is  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  to 


150  EARLY  BIBLES. 

these  poor  Barbarians  in  this  (Erewhile)  Un- 
known World. 

Translations  of  Holy  Scripture,  The  Word 
of  the  King  of  Kings,  have  ever  been  deemed 
not  unworthy  of  the  most  Princely  Dedica- 
tions :  Examples  whereof  are  extant  in  divers 
Languages.  But  Your  Majesty  is  the  First 
that  hath  Received  one  in  this  Language,  or 
from  this  American  World,  or  from  any  Parts 
so  Remote  from  Europe  as  these  are,  for  ought 
that  ever  we  heard  of. 

Publications  of  these  Sacred  Writings  to 
the  §ons  of  Men  (who  here,  and  here  onely, 
have  the  Mysteries  of  their  Eternal  Salvation 
revealed  to  them  by  the  God  of  Heaven)  is  a 
Work  that  the  Greatest  Princes  have  Honoured 
themselves  by.  But  to  Publish  and  Communi- 
cate the  same  to  a  Lost  People,  as  remote  from 
Knowledge  and  Civility,  much  more  from 
Christianity,  as  they  were  from  all  Knowing, 
Civil  and  Christian  Nations ;  a  People  without 
Law,  without  Letters,  without  Riches,  or 
Means  to  procure  any  such  thing;  a  people  that 


APPENDICES.  151 

sate  as  deep  in  Darkness,  and  in  the  Shadow  of 
Death,  as  (we  think)  any  since  the  Creation : 
This  puts  a  Lustre  upon  it  that  is  Superlative ; 
and  to  have  given  Royal  Patronage  and  Coun- 
tenance to  such  a  Publication,  or  to  the 
Means  thereof,  will  stand  among  the  Marks  of 
Lasting  Honour  in  the  eyes  of  all  that  are 
Considerate,  even  unto  After-Generations. 

And  though  there  be  in  this  Western 
World  many  Colonies  of  other  Europsean 
Nations,  yet  we  humbly  conceive,  no  Prince 
hath  had  a  Return  of  such  a  Work  as  this; 
which  may  be  some  Token  of  the  Success  of 
Your  Majesties  Plantation  of  New-England, 
Undertaken  and  Setled  under  the  Encourage- 
ment and  Security  of  Grants  from  Your  Royal 
Father  and  Grandfather,  of  Famous  Memory, 
and  Cherished  with  late  Gracious  Aspects  from 
Your  Majesty.  Though  indeed,  the  present 
Poverty  of  these  Plantations  could  not  have 
Accomplished  this  Work,  had  not  the  foremen- 
tioned  Bounty  of  England  lent  Relief ;  Nor 
could  that  have  Continued  to  stand  us  in  stead, 


152  EARLY  BIBLES. 

without  the  Influence  of  Your  Royal  Favour 
and  Authority,  whereby  the  Corporation  there, 
for  Propagating  the  G-ospel  among  these  Na- 
tives, hath  been  Established  and  Encouraged 
(whose  Labour  of  Love,  Care  and  Faithfulness 
in  that  Trust,  must  ever  be  remembred  with 
Honour.)  Yea,  when  private  persons,  for  their 
private  Ends,  have  of  late  sought  Advantages 
to  deprive  the  said  Corporation  of  Half  the 
Possessions  that  had  been,  by  Liberal  Contribu- 
tions, obtained  for  so  Religious  Ends;  We 
understand,  That  by  an  Honourable  and  Right- 
eous Decision  in  Your  Majesties  Court  of 
Chancery,  their  Hopes  have  been  defeated,  and 
the  Thing  Settled  where  it  was  and  is.  For 
which  great  Favour  and  Illustrious  Fruit  of 
Your  Majesties  Government,  we  cannot  but  re- 
turn our  most  Humble  Thanks  in  this  Publick 
Manner :  And,  as  the  Result,  of  the  joynt  En- 
deavours of  Your  Majesties  Subjects  there  and 
here,  acting  under  Your  Royal  Influence,  We 
Present  You  with  this  Work,  which  upon 
sundry  accounts  is  to  be  called  Yours. 


APPENDICES.  153 

The  Southern  Colonies  of  the  Spanish 
Nation  have  sent  home  from  this  American 
Continent,  much  Gold  and  Silver,  as  the  Fruit 
and  End  of  their  Discoveries  and  Transplanta- 
tions :  That  (we  confess  is  a  scarce  Commodity 
in  this  Colder  Climate.  But  (sutable  to  the 
Ends  of  our  Undertaking)  we  Present  this,  and 
other  Concomitant  Fruits  of  our  poor  Endeav- 
ours to  Plant  and  Propagate  the  Gospel  here ; 
which,  upon  a  true  account,  is  as  much  better 
than  Gold,  as  the  Souls  of  men  are  more  worth 
than  the  whole  World.  This  is  a  Nobler  Fruit 
(and  indeed,  in  the  Counsels  of  All-Disposing 
Providence,  was  an  higher  intended  End)  of 
Columbus  his  adventure.  And  though  by  his 
Brother's  being  hindred  from  a  seasonable 
Application,  your  Famous  Predecessour  and 
Ancestor,  King  Henry  the  Seventh,  missed  of 
being  sole  owner  of  that  first  Discovery,  and  of 
the  Riches  thereof ;  yet,  if  the  Honour  of  first 
Discovering  the  True  and  Saving  Knowledge  of 
the  Gospel  unto  the  poor  American*,  and  of 
Erecting  the  Kingdom  of  JESUS  CHRIST 


154  EARLY  BIBLES. 

among  them,  be  Reserved  for,  and  do  Redound 
unto  your  Majesty,  and  the  English  Nation, 
After-ages  Will  not  reckon  this  Inferiour  to 
the  other.  Religion  is  the  End  and  Glory  of 
Mankinde  ;  and  as  it  was  the  Professed  End  of 
this  Plantation ;  so  we  desire  ever  to  keep  it  in 
our  Eye  as  our  main  design  (both  as  to  our 
selves,  and  the  Natives  about  us)  and  that  our 
Products  may  be  answerable  thereunto.  Give 
us  therefore  leave  (Dread  Soveraigri)  yet  again 
humbly  to  Beg  the  Continuance  of  your  Royal 
Favour,  and  of  the  Influences  thereof,  upon 
this  poor  Plantation,  The  United  Colonies  of 
NEW  ENGLAND,  for  the  Securing  and 
Establishment  of  our  Civil  Priviledges,  and 
Religious  Liberties  hitherto  Enjoyed ;  and, 
upon  this  Good  Work  of  Propagating  Religion 
to  these  Natives,  that  the  Supports  and  Encour- 
agements thereof  from  England  may  be  still 
countenanced  and  Confirmed.  May  this  Nurs- 
ling still  suck  the  Breast  of  Kings,  and  be 
fostered  by  your  Majesty,  as  it  hath  been  by 
your  Royal  Predecessors,  unto  the  Preservation 


APPENDICES.  155 

of  its  main  Concernments ;  It  shall  thrive  and 
prosper  to  the  Glory  of  God,  and  the  Honour 
of  your  Majesty  :  Neither  will  it  be  any  loss  or 
grief  unto  our  Lord  the  King,  to  have  the 
Blessings  of  the  Poor  to  come  upon  Him,  and 
that  from  these  Ends  of  the  Earth. 

The  G-od  by  whom  Kings  Reign,  and  Princes 
Decree  Justice,  Bless  Your  Majesty,  and 
Establish  your  Throne  in  Righteousness,  in 
Mercy  and  in  Truth,  to  the  Glory  of  His 
Name,  the  Good  of  his  People,  and  to  your 
own  Comfort  and  Rejoycing,  not  in  this 
onely,  but  in  another  World. 


156  EARLY  BIBLES. 


APPENDIX   C. 

To  the  Honourable  ROBERT  BOYLE,  Usq: 
Grovernour,  And  to  the  Company,  for  the 
Propagation  of  The  G-ospel  to  the  Indians 
in  New  England,  and  Parts  adjacent  in 
America. 

HONOURABLE  SRS, —  There  are  more  than 
thirty  years  passed  since  the  Charitable  and 
Pious  Collections  were  made  throughout  the 
Kingdom  of  England,  for  the  Propagation  of 
the  Gospel  to  the  Indians,  Natives  of  His 
MAJESTIES  Territories  in  America  ;  and  near 
the  same  time :  since  by  His  late  MAJESTIES 
favour  of  ever  blessed  Memory,  the  Affair  was 
erected  into  an  Honourable  Corporation  by 
Charter  under  the  Broad  Seal  of  England  ;  in  all 
which  time  our  selves  and  those  that  were  before 
us,  that  have  been  Your  Stewards,  and  managed 
Your  Trust  here,  are  witnesses  of  Your  earnest 
and  sincere  endeavours,  that  that  good  Work 
might  prosper  and  flourish,  not  only  by  the 
good  management  of  the  Estate  committed  to 


APPENDICES.  157 

You,  but  by  Your  own  Charitable  and  Honour- 
able Additions  thereto ;  whereof  this  second 
Edition  of  the  HOLY  BIBLE  in  their  own 
Language,  much  corrected  and  amended,  we 
hope  will  be  an  everlasting  witness ;  for  where- 
soever this  Gospel  shall  be  Preached,  this  also 
that  you  have  done,  shall  be  spoken  of  for  a 
Memorial  of  you ;  and  as  it  hath,  so  it  shall  be 
our  studious  desire  and  endeavour,  that  the 
success  amongst  the  Indians  here,  in  reducing 
them  into  a  civil  and  holy  life,  may  in  some 
measure  answer  the  great  and  necessary  Ex- 
pences  thereabouts :  And  our  humble  Prayer  to 
Almighty  God,  that  You  may  have  the  glorious 
Reward  of  your  Service,  both  in  this  and  in  a 
better  World. 

We  are  Your  Honours  most  Humble  and 
Faithful  Servants, 

WILLIAM  STOUGHTON. 

JOSEPH  DUDLEY. 

PETER  BULKLEY. 

THOMAS  HINCKLEY. 
Boston,  Octob.  23,  1685. 


158  EARLY  BIBLES. 


APPENDIX   D. 

List  of  owners  of  Eliot  New  Testaments  and  Bibles,  as 
far  as  known. 

New  Testaments  of  1661. 

British  Museum  (2),  London,  Eng. 

British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  London,  Eng. 

Bodleian  Library,  Oxford,  Eng. 

Town  Library,  Leicester,  Eng. 

Edinburgh  Library,  Edinburgh,  Scot. 

University  Library,  Glasgow,  Scot. 

Trinity  College,  Dublin,  Ire. 

Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Lenox  Library  (2),  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Boston  Athenaeum,  Boston,  Mass. 
Library  of  the  late  John  Carter  Brown  (2),  Providence,  R.  I. 

Library  of  the  late  George  Livermore,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Mr.  Clarence  S.  Bement,  Philadelphia,  Penn. 

Mr.  C.  F.  Gunther,  Chicago,  111. 

Mr.  Frederick  F.  Thompson,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Mitchell's  Book  Store,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Bible  0/1663. 

British  Museum,  London,  Eng. 

Bodleian  Library,  Oxford,  Eng. 

University  Library,  Cambridge,  Eng. 

Library  of  Duke  of  Devonshire,  Chatsworth,  Eng. 

Library  of  Earl  of  Spencer,  Althorp,  Eng. 

Glasgow  University,  Glasgow,  Scot. 

Trinity  College,  Dublin,  Ire. 

Royal  Library,  Stuttgart,  Ger. 

Royal  Library,  Berlin,  Ger. 

Royal  Library,  Copenhagen,  Den. 


APPENDICES. 


159 


Zealand  Academy  of  Science, 

University  of  Virginia, 

Brown  University, 

Harvard  University, 

Bowdoin  College, 

Library  of  Congress  (2), 

Lenox  Library  (2), 

Andover  Theological  Seminary, 

Astor  Library, 

American  Antiquarian  Society, 

Boston  Athenaeum, 

Boston  Public  Library, 

Massachusetts  Historical  Society, 

Philadelphia  Library  Company, 

Congregational  Church, 

William  Everett,  Ph.  D., 

Library  of  the  late  George  Livermore, 

J.  Hammond  Trumbull,  LL.D., 

Library  of  the  late  Joseph  W.  Drexel, 

Mr.  Theodore  Irwin, 

Mr.  John  Lyon  Gardner, 

Mrs.  Laura  Eliot  Cutter, 


Middleburg,  Holl. 
Charlottesville,  Va. 
Providence,  R.  I. 
Cambridge,  Mass. 
Brunswick,  Me. 
Washington,  D.C. 
New  York,  N.  Y. 
Andover,  Mass. 
New  York,  N.  Y. 
Worcester,  Mass. 
Boston,  Mass. 
Boston,  Mass. 
Boston,  Mass. 
Philadelphia,  Penn. 
Newport,  R.  I. 
Quincy,  Mass. 
Cambridge,  Mass. 
Hartford,  Conn. 
New  York,  N.  Y. 
Oswego,  N.  Y. 
Gardner's  Island,  N.  Y. 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


Library  of  the  late  Charles  H.  Kalbfleisch,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Mr.  J.  Pierpont  Morgan,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Library  of  the  late  John  Carter  Brown,      Providence,  R.  I. 
Mr.  E.  P.  Vining,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Mr.  C.  F.  Gunther,  Chicago,  111. 

Mr.  Frederick  F.  Thompson,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Mr.  Sumner  Hollingsworth,  Boston,  Mass. 

Mr.  Charles  R.  Hildeburn,  Philadelphia,  Penn. 


New  Testament  of  1680. 
Mr.  W.  B.  Shillaber, 


Boston,  Mass. 


160 


EARLY  BIBLES. 


Bible  of  1685. 

*  British  Museum, 

British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society, 
Bodleian  Library, 

*  Trinity  College, 
Library  of  Advocates, 
Edinburgh  University, 
Glasgow  University, 
Royal  Library, 

*  Leyden  University, 
Prince  Stolberg  Library, 

*  Utrecht  University, 
Royal  Library, 

*  University  Library, 
Library  of  the  Earl  of  Spencer, 
Harvard  University, 
University  of  South  Carolina, 
Yale  College, 

Trinity  College, 
Morse  Institute, 
Bowdoin  College, 
Dartmouth  College  (2), 
Pilgrim  Society, 
Philadelphia  Library  Co.  (2), 

*  Andover  Theological  Seminary, 

*  Lenox  Library  (2), 

Long  Island  Historical  Society, 

*  Massachusetts  Historical  Society, 
New  York  Historical  Society, 
Historical  Society  Pennsylvania, 
New  York  State  Library, 
American  Antiquarian  Society  (2), 
American  Philosophical  Society  (2), 


London,  Eng. 

London,  Eng. 

Oxford,  Eng. 

Cambridge,  Eng. 

Edinburgh,  Scot. 

Edinburgh,  Scot. 

Glasgow,  Scot. 

Stuttgart,  Ger. 

Leyden,  Holl. 

Wernigerode,  Ger. 

Utrecht,  Holl. 

Copenhagen,  Den. 

Copenhagen,  Den. 

Althorp,  Eng. 

Cambridge,  Mass. 

Columbia,  S.  C. 

New  Haven,  Conn. 

Hartford,  Conn. 

Natick,  Mass. 

Brunswick,  Me. 

Hanover,  N.  H. 

Plymouth,  Mass. 

Philadelphia,  Penn. 

Andover,  Mass. 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Boston,  Mass. 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

Philadelphia,  Penn. 

Albany,  N.  Y. 

Worcester,  Mass. 

Philadelphia,  Penn. 


•  Contains  the  original  dedication  to  Hon.  Robert  Boyle. 


APPENDICES. 


161 


Boston  Athenaeum  (2),  Boston,  Mass. 

*  Boston  Public  Library,  Boston,  Mass. 
Library  of  Congress,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Congregational  Library,  Boston,  Mass. 
Connecticut  Historical  Society  (2),  Hartford,  Conn. 
Rev.  John  F.  Hurst,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

*  Dr.  Charles  R.  King,  Andalusia,  Penn. 
Mr.  Levi  Z.  Leiter,  Chicago,  111. 
Library  of  the  late  George  Livermore,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Dr.  Ellsworth  Eliot,  New  York,  N.  T. 

*  Library  of  the  late  Col.  Geo.  W.  Pratt,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
J.  Hammond  Trumbull,  LL.D.,  Hartford,  Conn. 
Mr.  Lucius  L.  Hubbard  (2),  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Library  of  the  late  George  Brinley,  Hartford,  Conn. 
Mr.  Wilberforce  Eames,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

*  Library  of  the  late  John  Carter  Brown  (2),  Providence,  R.  I. 
Rev.  Henry  M.  Dexter,  Boston,  Mass. 
Mr.  Cornelius  Vanderbilt,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Mr.  C.  F.  Gunther,  Chicago,  111. 


RECAPITULATION. 

Copies  owned  in  Europe, 
Copies  owned  in  the  United  States, 
Total, 


89 
122 


162  EARLY  BIBLES. 


APPENDIX  E. 

-Some  of  the  prices  paid  for  Eliot  New  Testaments  and 
Bibles. 

New  Testament  of  1661. 

Thompson  copy $340.00 

Bement  copy 610.00 

Lenox  Library  copy 700.00 

Bible  of  1663. 

Gunther  copy $250.00 

Drexel  copy 550.00 

Cutter  copy 900.00 

Morgan  copy 1,000.00 

Astor  Library  copy 1,125.00 

Hildeburn  copy 1,600.00 

Kalbfleisch  copy 2,900.00 

Bible  0/1685. 

Eames  copy $140.00 

Eliot  copy 230.00 

Trumbull  copy 325.00 

Leitercopy 500.00 

Vanderbilt  copy 550.00 

Penn.  Historical  Society  copy 590.00 

Brown  copy 950.00 


APPENDICES.  163 

APPENDIX  F. 

List  of  owners  of  the  Saur  Bibles  as  far  as  known. 

Bible  of  1743. 

*  Ducal  Library,  Wolf enbiittel,  Ger. 

*  Royal  Library,  Frankfort-on-the  Main,  Ger. 

*  Royal  Library,  Dresden,  Ger. 

*  Royal  Library,  Stuttgart,  Ger. 

*  Prince  Stolberg  Library,  Wernigerode,  Ger. 
t  Dr.  J.  Haeberlin,                     Frankfort-on-the  Main,  Ger. 

*  Landes  Bibliothek,  Cassel,  Ger. 

*  Ducal  Library,  Gotha,  Ger. 
Royal  Library,  Copenhagen,  Den. 
Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Lafayette  College,  Easton,  Peun. 
Yale  College,  New  Haven  Conn. 
Library  of  Congress,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Newberry  Library,  Chicago,  111. 
Germania  Society,  Chicago,  111. 
Historical  Society  (3),  Philadelphia,  Penn. 
Lenox  Library,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Mr.  Theodore  Irwin,  Oswego,  N.  Y. 
Mr.  C.  F.  Gunther,  Chicago,  111. 
Rev.  John  F.  Hurst,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Mr.  Howard  Edwards,  Philadelphia,  Penn. 
Mr.  Abraham  Cassel,  Harleysville,  Penn. 
Samuel  W.  Pennypacker,  LL.D.,  Philadelphia,  Penn. 

*  Dr.  Ruppersburg,      In  United  States,  but  place  unknown. 

Bible  of  1763. 
Lenox  Library,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

*  Presentation  copy  from  Mr.  H.  E.  Luther. 
t  Mr.  H.  E.  Luther's  own  copy. 


164 


EARLY  BIBLES. 


State  Library, 

Historical  Society  (2), 

Mr.  Howard  Edwards, 

Rev.  John  F.  Hurst,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

Mr.  C.  F.  Gunther, 

Samuel  W.  Pennypacker,  LL.D., 

Mr.  Abraham  Cassel, 

Rev.  John  Wright,  D.D., 

Bible  of  1776. 
Union  College, 
Harvard  University, 
Historical  Society  (3), 
Historical  Society, 
Long  Island  Historical  Society, 
Minnesota  Historical  Society, 
Lenox  Library, 

Philadelphia  Library  Company, 
American  Bible  Society, 
Friends'  Free  Library, 
Rev.  John  F.  Hurst,  D.D.,  LL.D.  (3), 
Samuel  W.  Pennypacker,  LL.D., 
Mr.  C.  F.  Gunther, 
Mr.  Howard  Edwards, 
Mr.  Theodore  Irwin, 
Mr.  Abraham  Cassel, 


Harrisburg,  Penn. 

Philadelphia,  Penn. 

Philadelphia,  Penn. 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Chicago,  111. 

Philadelphia,  Penn. 

Harleysville,  Penn. 

St.  Paul,  Minn. 


Schenectady,  N.  Y. 
Cambridge,  Mass. 
Philadelphia,  Penn. 
New  York,  N.  Y. 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
St.  Paul,  Minn. 
New  York,  N.  Y. 
Philadelphia,  Penn. 
New  York,  N.  Y. 
Germantown,  Penn. 
Washington,  D.  C. 
Philadelphia,  Penn. 
Chicago,  111. 
Philadelphia,  Penn. 
Oswego,  N.  Y. 
Harleysville,  Penn. 
St.  Paul,  Minn. 


Rev.  John  Wright,  D.D., 

The  Sower  families,  40  copies  of  the  various  editions, 

Philadelphia,  Penn. 


RECAPITULATION. 

Copies  owned  in  Europe, 
Copies  owned  in  the  United  States, 
Total, 


_88 
97 


APPENDICES. 


165 


APPENDIX   G. 


List  of  owners  of  the  Aitken  Bible  as  far  as  known. 


British  Museum, 

Massachusetts  Historical  Society, 

New  York  State  Library, 

Library  of  Congress, 

American  Antiquarian  Society, 

American  Bible  Society, 

Lenox  Library  (2), 

Maryland  Episcopal  Library, 

Connecticut  Historical  Society, 

Philadelphia  Library  Company  (2), 

Pennsylvania  Historical  Society, 

Mr.  Abraham  Cassel, 

Mr.  Howard  Edwards, 

Mr.  William  Y.  McAllister, 

Samuel  W.  Pennypacker,  LL.D., 

Mr.  C.  F.  Gunther, 

Rev.  John  F.  Hurst,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

RECAPITULATION. 

Copy  owned  in  England, 
Copies  owned  in  the  United  States, 
Total, 


London,  Eng. 

Boston,  Mass. 

Albany,  N.  Y. 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Worcester,  Mass. 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

Baltimore,  Md. 

Hartford,  Conn. 

Philadelphia,  Penn. 

Philadelphia,  Penn. 

Harleysville,  Penn. 

Philadelphia,  Penn. 

Philadelphia,  Penn. 

Philadelphia,  Penn. 

Chicago,  111. 

Washington,  D.  C. 


1 

IS 
19 


INDEX. 


AITKEN  BIBLE,  Thomas's  statement  about,  55, 56;  correctness  of  this 
statement  questioned  by  Bancroft,  57;  first  copy  of ,  in  British 
Museum,  57;  Sam  Hazard's  letter  about,  58  ;  sanction  and  sup- 
port  of  Congress  sought  for,  61 ;  report  of  Congressional  Chap- 
lains upon,  62  ;  resolution  of  Congress  upon,  63 ;  description  of, 
63,64,65;  title-page  of ,  64  ;  financially  unsuccessful,  66;  resolu- 
tion of  Presbyterian  Synod  upon,  66;  rarity  of,  67;  of  interest  to 
Americans,  67  ;  owners  of,  Appendix  G,  163. 

AITKKN,  JANE,  120. 

AITKEN  NEW  TESTAMENT,  copy  of,  in  Lenox  Library,  60;  title-page 
of,  60;  description  of,  61;  editions  of,  61 ;  title-page  of,  in  Bible 
of  1782,  65. 

AITKEN,  ROBERT,  59,  61, 120. 

ALGONKIN  LANGUAGE,  14, 15 ;  had  no  equivalent  for  certain  words, 
14  ;  Cotton  Mather's  opinion  of,  15;  Dr.  Ellis  on,  15. 

AMERICAN  ANTIQUARIAN  SOCIETY,  Isaiah  Thomas's  connection 
with,  84,  85. 

AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY,  number  of  its  publications,  128. 

AMERICAN  BIBLE  UNION,  its  revised  New  Testament,  129-131. 

AMERICAN  AND  FOREIGN  BIBLE  SOCIETY,  129. 

AMERICAN  MONTHLY  REVIEW  on  Dickinson's  New  and  Corrected 
Version  of  the  New  Testament,  quoted,  107. 

APOCRYPHA,  why  omitted  in  some  copies  of  Collins's  Bible,  90. 

BANCROFT'S  History  of  the  United  States,  quoted,  56,  57. 

BAR,  JOHANN,  publisher  of  first  German  folio  Bible,  139. 

BIBLE,  Aitken,  55,  and  owners  of,  Appendix  G;  —  Berriman  &  Co.'a, 
122;  Brown's  Self -Instructing,  126 ;  Bruce's,  128;  Carey's,  121; 
Clapp's,  134;  Coit's  Paragraph,  132-134;  Collins's,  86,  128;  Col- 
lateral,  125  ;  Cummiskey's,  124;  Eliot  of  1663,  4-16, 21, 22,  25, 110, 
Appendices  B  and  E;  Eliot  of  1685,  19-22,  Appendices  D  and  E ; 
167 


168  INDEX. 


first  electrotyped,  131 ;  first  in  Conn.,  135 ;  first  from  American 
stereotyped  plates,  127;  Franklin's  proposed,  104;  first  German 
folio,  139;  Hebrew,  124;  Hieroglyphical,  131;  Hodge  &  Camp- 
bell's,  127;  Hot-press,  122;  Illuminated,  131;  Kimber,  Conrad  & 
Co.'s,  123;  Latin,  121,  124;  Moss's,  125;  New  York,  126, 127;  Phil- 
adelphia, 120-125;  Right-Aim  School,  132;  Sargent's,  127;  Saur 
of  1743,  28  and  Appendix  F;  Saur  of  1763,  50  and  Appendix  F; 
Saur  of  1776,  51  and  Appendix  F;  Smith's,  Julia  E.,  136;  Thomas, 
76;  Webster's  (Noah),135  ;  Young's,121;  Yungmann's  German  53. 
11  BIBLE-CONGRESS,"  67. 

BlLLMEYER,  MICHAEL,  139. 

BLOMFIELD'S  GREEK  TESTAMENT,  115, 116. 

BOYLE,  HON.  ROBERT,  7,  19,  20;  dedication  to,  in  copies  of  Eliot 
Bible  of  1685,  Appendix  C. 

BRADFORD,  WILLIAM,  Proposal  to  print  the  Bible,  119, 120. 

CAREY,  MATTHEW,  121. 

COIT'S  PARAGRAPH  BIBLE,  132;  Quotation  from  preface  of,  133. 

COLLINS,  ISAAC,  86,  128;  proposes  to  publish  a  Bible,  87. 

COLLINS  BIBLE. —  Proposal,  indorsed  by  Society  of  Friends,  87,  88; 
conditionally  by  Baptist  Association,  89;  resolution  of  Presbyte- 
rian General  Assembly,  88;  resolution  of  Convention  of  Protest- 
ant Episcopal  Church,  89;  title-page  of,  90;  copies  without 
Apocrypha,  90. 

CONGRESS,  petitioned  by  Robert  Aitken  for  support,  61;  appoints 
Committee  to  report  thereon,  61;  report  of  Committee,  62;  re- 
port of  Chaplains  of,  62;  resolution  of,  upon  Aitken's  Bible,  63; 
called  "  Bible-Congress,"  67. 

CORPORATION  for  Promoting  and  Propagating  the  Gospel,  etc. ;  its 
formation,  3;  assists  in  printing  Indian  Bible,  4. 

COTTON,  REV.  JOHN,  assisted  Eliot  in  preparing  the  second  edition 
of  the  Indian  Bible,  18. 

DEDICATION  of  Eliot's  New  Testament,  7  and  Appendix  A. 

DEDICATION  of  Eliot's  Bible  of  1663,  Appendix  B. 

DEDICATION  to  Hon.  Robert  Boyle,  in  copies  of  Eliot  Bible  of  1685, 
19,  20,  and  Appendix  C. 

DICKINSON,  RODOLPHUS,  "  New  and  Corrected  Version  of  the  New 
Testament,"  quoted,  107. 

DODAY  VERSION.  —  Publishers'  appeal,  quoted,  70,  71 ;  title-page  of 
72;  description  of,  72,  73. 

EAMES,  WILBERFORCE,  "  Bibliographic  Notes  on  Eliot's  Indian 
Bible,"  etc.,  quoted,  13. 


INDEX.  169 


EBELING,  DR.  C.  D.,  his  copy  of  Eliot  Bible,  43. 

ELECTROTYPED  PLATES,  when  first  used  in  printing  American 
Bibles,  131. 

ELIOT  BIBLE.  — Translation  of  whole  Bible,  4,  15;  this  edition  de- 
scribed, 9-16;  English  title-page,  9;  Indian  title-page,  10;  edi- 
tion of  1685,  description  of,  19;  value  of  this  edition,  21;  com- 
parative importance  of  first  and  second  editions,  21;  interesting 
associations  connected  with  certain  copies  of,  22;  errors  in  edi- 
tion of  1663,  13, 14,  20,  110;  errors  in  edition  of  1685,  20;  owners 
of,  22-26  and  Appendix  D;  prices  of,  21,  22,  25  and  Appendix  E. 

ELIOT,  JOHN.  —  Purpose  of,  in  coming  to  New  England,  1 ;  education, 
2;  studies  Indian  language,  2;  desires  to  translate  the  Bible,  3, 
4;  translation  accomplished,  4;  publishes  the  New  Testament, 
5;  publishes  whole  Bible,  9;  character  of,  26;  "Apostle  to  the 
Indians,"  26;  Life  of,  by  Francis,  quoted,  16. 

ELIOT  NEW  TESTAMENT.  —  Published,  5;  described,  6,  7 ;  title-page 
of,  in  English,  5  ;  in  Indian,  6;  second  edition  described,  16, 17; 
owners  of,  8  and  Appendix  D. 

ELLIS,  DR.,  on  Indian  words,  quoted,  15. 

ENGLES,  JOSEPH  P.,  116,  117. 

EPHRATA,  PENN.,  Bibles  printed  at,  138;  not  mentioned  byO'Calla- 
ghan,  139. 

ERRORS,  PRINTERS',  111. 

FRANCIS,  Life  of  Eliot,  quoted,  16. 

FRANKLIN,  BENJAMIN,  proposal  for  a  New  Version  of  the  Bible,  104, 
105  ;  McMasters,  on  this  proposal,  quoted,  105. 

GERMAN,  Bible  in,  Saur's,  28;  Yungmann's,  53;  first  folio  in,  139; 
New  Testament  in,  138,  139. 

GREEK,  NEW  TESTAMENT  IN,  first  American  edition  of,  112;  other 
editions,  112-118;  Blomfield's,  115;  Polymicrian,  116,  117. 

GREEN,  SAMUEL,  3, 19. 

GREENFIELD,  WILLIAM,  117. 

HAZARD,  SAM,  letter  of,  referring  to  Aitken  Bible,  58. 

HlEROGLYPHICAL  BIBLE,  109. 

HIMES,  JOSHUA  V.,  106. 

INDIAN   LANGUAGE.  —  Cotton  Mather,  on,  15;  Kev.  Dr.  Ellis,  on, 

quoted,  15;  Lord's  Prayer  in,  15. 
INDIANS,  desire  of,  for  Bibles,  18. 
KNEELAND,  REV.  ABNER,  114. 
LORD'S  PRAYER,  translated  into  Indian  language,  3;  Indian  Version 

of,  15;  Julia  E.  Smith's  version  of,  137;  Rev.  Samuel  Mather's 

rendering  of,  106. 


170  INDEX. 


LUTHER,  HEINRICH  E.,  assists  Saur,  34, 47. 

MATHER,  COTTON,  "Magnalia,"  quoted,  16;  opinion  of  Indian  words, 
15. 

MATHER,  REV.  SAMUEL,  his  rendering  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  106. 

McMASTERS,  quotation  from  Life  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  in  American 
Men  of  Letters  Series,  105. 

MERRIAM  &  Co.'s  edition  of  the  Bible,  140. 

"  MILLERITE  "  New  Testament,  108. 

MURDOCH,  JAMES,  translation  of  Peshito  Syriac  New  Testament, 
99;  his  career,  101. 

NEW  TESTAMENT,  American  Bible  Union's,  quoted,  139  ;  "  Dictated 
by  the  Spirit,"  109;  Eliot  of  1661,  owners  of,  Appendix  D;  prices 
of  this  edition,  Appendix  E;  Eliot  of  1680,  owners  of,  Appendix 
D;  Eliot  of  1661,  title-pages,  5,  6;  French,  132;  Gained,  126; 
German,  138,  139;  Greek,  112-118  ;  modern  Greek,  118;  Hall  & 
Seller's,  124;  in  Conn.,  135;  in  Delaware,  135;  "  Millerite,"  108; 
Peshito  Syriac,  97;  Saur,  52;  Socinian,  109. 

NEW  YORK  BIBLE  AND  COMMON  PRAYER-BOOK  SOCIETY,  128. 

O'CALLAGHAN,  DR.  E.  B.,  his  "  List  of  Bibles,"  etc.,  referred  to,  13, 
20,  52,  57,  139,  140. 

OMISSION  in  Eliot  Bible,  20. 

PENN.  MAGAZINE  OF  HISTORY  AND  BIOGRAPHY,  quoted,  95,  96. 

PESHITO  SYRIAC  NEW  TESTAMENT.  — Date  of,  97;  first  edition  of ,  99 ; 
first  American  translation,  99;  first  English  translation,  99;  Pre- 
face of  first  American  translation,  quoted,  100;  title-page  of,  100. 

PHINNEY,  H.  &  E.,  edition  of  the  Bible,  140. 

SALT,  no  equivalent  for,  in  Indian  language,  14. 

SAUR  BIBLE.  — Proposal  of,  quoted,  32,  33;  publication  of,  34 ;  title- 
page  of,  in  German,  35;  title-page  translated,  35;  collation  of, 
35;  Preface  of,  36-39;  description  of,  39;  history  of  copies  sent 
to  H.  E.  Luther,  40-46;  Dedication  in  Luther's  copy,  42;  letter 
of  Dr.  T.  Schott  about  presentation  copy,  44;  Inscription  in 
Count  Heinrich  De  Hunan's  copy,  45;  Luther's  list  of  presenta- 
tion copies,  46;  second  edition  of,  described,  50;  third  edition 
of,  51  ;  owners  of,  Appendix  F. 

SAUR  NEW  TESTAMENT;  dates  of  issue,  52;  certain  editions  of ,  omit- 
ted by  O'Callaghan,  52. 

SEPTUAGINT.  —  First  American  translation  of,  91 ;  title-page  of  this 
translation,  92;  value  of  it,  93,  95. 

SMITH,  JULIA  E.,  her  translation  quoted,  137. 

STEREOTYPE  PLATES,  AMERICAN,  first  Bible  from,  127. 


INDEX.  171 


THOMAS  BIBLE.  — Prospectus,  77;  folio  edition,  title-page,  and  de- 
scription of,  78;  New  Testament  title-page,  79;  royal  quarto 
edition,  title-page  and  description  of,  80,  81;  other  editions,  83; 
Preface  quoted,  82. 

THOMAS,  B.  F.,  "  Memoir  of  Isaiah  Thomas,"  quoted,  84. 

THOMAS,  ISAIAH.  —  Career  of,  74-76,  83, 84;  called  "  the  Baskerville, 
of  America,"  82;  his  History  of  Printing  in  America,  quoted 
29,  30,  55,  56. 

THOMSON,  CHARLES.  — Anecdote  about,  91;  career  of,  93;  his  trans- 
lation of  the  Septuagint,  91-93,  95,  96;  "  Synopsis  of  the  four 
Evangelists,"  96. 

TRUMBULL,  DR.,  his  article  in  "  Memorial  History  of  Boston,"  quoted, 
14 ;  discovered  omission  in  Eliot  Bible,  20. 

WASHINGTON,  GEORGE,  remark  of,  about  Thomas,  quoted,  84. 

WATSON'S,  "  Annals  of  Philadelphia,"  quoted,  91,  92. 

WEBSTER,  NOAH,  proposes  an  amended  Bible,  135;  Biography  of,  by 
Horace  E.  Scudder,  quoted,  136. 

WOODRUFF,  HEZEKIAH,  Version  of  Gospel  according  to  St.  Matthew, 
quoted,  108. 

YOUNG,  WILLIAM,  121. 

YUNGMANN'S  GERMAN  BIBLE,  preface  of,  53, 54. 


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